
Glass Fl4 



Book 



JQ2i 



THE 






HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT, 



THE FIRST SETTLEMENT 



TO THE 



PRESENT TIME, 



BY THEODORE DWIGHT, JR. 



NEW YORK: 
HARPER & BROTHERS, PUBLISHERS, 

82 CLIFF STREET. 









Enteied, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1840, by 

Harper & Brothers, 

hi the Clerk's Office of the Southern District of New- York. 

5 Jeia07 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER I. 

Character and Objects of the Founders of Connecticut Colony. 
—The Founding of New-Haven Colony with similar Designs. 
—Difficulties arising from the conflicting Claims ot European 
Sovereigns and of English Patents and Companies.— Claims 
of the Spaniards, English, Dutch, and French.— Justice ot the 
English Claim— Brief Geographical View of Connecticut, 
with its present Boundaries, &c. . . . Page 15 

CHAPTER II. 

Original Condition of the Country, and the Change in its Ap- 
pearance, &c, which has been produced by Cultivation and 
the Arts of Civilized Life.-The Indian Nations or Tribes 
which inhabited the Connecticut and the neighbouring Re- 
gions _The Connecticut or River Indians.— The Pequods 
and Mohegans.— The Five Nations of New-York then called 
Mohawks in New-England.— The Narragansets of Rhode Isl- 
and. —Wild Animals 21 

CHAPTER III. 1631—1636. 

First Explorers of Connecticut River.— The Plymouth People 
invited to settle on its Banks.— Windsor Trading-house.— The 
Dutch Fort and Trading-house built at Hartford —Reasons 
for settling the country on Connecticut River proposed to 
Massachusetts.— Objections made to the Project.— Those ob- 
jections honourable to the character of the Colonists— Five 
men spend the winter of 1635-6 at Pyquag, or Wethersfield. 
—Three companies of Colonists form Settlements in 1636 
at Hartford, Windsor, and Wethersfield, first called New- 
town, Dorchester, and Watertown.— Lord Say-and-Seal and 
his associates send men to build Say brook Fort . . 30 

CHAPTER IV. 1636-7. 

The Colonists hesitate about removing to Connecticut— They at 
length Depart— Difficulties experienced by them on the way. 
A. Z 



▼1 CONTENTS. 

— Settlements made by them at Springfield, Hartford, and 
Wethersfield. — Early Winter. — Scarcity of Provisions.— Loss 
of Vessels. — Some of the Settlers return. — Courts formed in 
the Spring. — Mr. Hooker and Mr. Stone, with their Congre- 
gation, travel on foot to Hartford. — Labours of the Colonists, 
and the Dangers to which they were exposed. — Apprehensions 
from the Indians. — The Pequods hostile . . . Page 40 

CHAPTER V. 

Hostile Movements of the Pequods. — They attack Wethersfield 
— They kill Captain Stone on Connecticut River, and Captain 
Oldham at Block Island.— They beset Saybrook Fort.— Others 
killed by them 49 

CHAPTER VI. 

The Crops fall short. — The Court determine on a War with the 
Pequods.— The Troops embark, under the command of Captain 
Mason. — Uncas joins them. — An Indian captured and tortured 
by the Mohegans. — The Expedition delayed at Saybrook by 
contrary Winds.— Differences of Opinion reconciled. — They 
sail for Narraganset.— Council with Miantonimoh. — They 
march into the Pequod Country, guided by Wequash. — Cap- 
ture and burning of Sassacus's Fort and Village. — They re- 
embark, and return to Saybrook 57 

CHAPTER VII. 

Reflections on the Expedition against the Pequods. — Captain 
Stoughton, with troops from Boston, pursues the Pequods. — 
The Swamp Fight at Fairfield.— Mononotto's Wife.— Severe 
treatment of Prisoners.— The Colonies suffer from scarcity 
of Food. — Military Arrangements in Connecticut . . 64 

CHAPTER VIII. 

Mr. Davenport and his Company arrive at Boston from England. 
— They are urged to settle in Massachusetts. — A Committee 
of their number visit Winnipiack. — The Settlement of New- 
Haven begun there in 1638. — The "Plantation Covenant" 
formed.— Purchases of Land by the new Colony. — The Char- 
acter and Objects of the Founders. — Planting of Milford, 
Guilford, Fairfield, and Stratford 72 



CONTENTS. Vll 



CHAPTER IX. 

The Constitution of Connecticut Colony, formed January 14th, 
1639.— The Condition of the Towns which required it —The 
Preamble and Provisions. — The Constitution of New-Haven, 
formed June 4th, 1639. — Settlement of Guilford, Stratford, and 
Saybrook Page 77 

CHAPTER X. 

Difficulties of Connecticut with Sowheag, sachem of Middle- 
town. — Pequods driven from their old Planting Grounds by 
Captain Mason. — Trouble with the Dutch. — Incorporation of 
Towns. — Execution of a Pequod Sachem at New-Haven. 
— Treatment of the Indians.— Purchases of Land for new 
Towns 86 

CHAPTER XL 

Fears of an Indian War. — Precautions. — The ten Capital Laws 
of Connecticut.— The Confederation of the New-England 
Colonies formed in 1645.— Its Objects and History. — The 
Preamble and Provisions. — Results. — Miantonimoh makes 
War on Uncas. — The Battle of Sachem's Field.— Miantoni- 
moh made Prisoner. — Taken to Hartford. — Killed by Uncas 

91 

CHAPTER XII. 

Letter of Congratulation and Complaint from the Dutch Gov- 
ernor. — The Indian and Dutch War injurious to Connecticut 
and New-Haven. — Uncas pressed by the Narragansets. — Aid 
sent to him.— The Narragansets meet the Commissioners at 
Hartford. — Annual Contributions commenced in the Colony 
for the Support of indigent Students in Cambridge College. 
— Southampton taken under Jurisdiction. — Renewed Appre- 
hensions of an Indian War. — Difficulty with Governor Kieft 
of New-York 102 

CHAPTER XIII. 

Difficulties with Indians.— Injury done to them by supplying 
them with Ardent Spirits. — Instances of their Perfidy.— Ca- 
lamities suffered by New-Haven.— Law against the Use of 
Tobacco in Connecticut.— Ninigrate's artful Conduct.— Mr. 



Ylll CONTENTS. 

Winthrop's Claim. — Saybrook Fort burned.— Settlement of 
New-London.— Indian War threatened. — An Alliance with 
Canada proposed Page 112 

CHAPTER XIV. 

Murder of Mr. Whitmore— A new Fort built at Saybrook.— 
The Code of Laws. — Uncas complains to the Commission- 
ers against the Narragansets and Pequods. — Massachusetts 
lays an Impost on Vessels and Goods of the other Colonies. — 
Restrictions on Indian Traders.— Captain Atherton's Visit to 
Narraganset and Nehantic— Lands given to Captain Mason 

121 

CHAPTER XV. 

Governor Stuyvesandt meets the Commissioners at Hartford, 
and the Difficulties with the Dutch are settled by Arbitration. 
— A new Arrangement with Mr. Fenwick.— Mining Privileges 
granted to Mr. Winthrop. — Norwalk incorporated and Middle- 
town settled. — Governor Stuyvesandt's unfriendly Conduct. — ■ 
Arrangements with the Pequods 128 

CHAPTER XVI. 1651-1652. 

The Navigation Act passed by Parliament to restrict the Com- 
merce of the Colonies.— Disregarded.— Commissioners from 
Canada to invite the Colonies to join them in War with the 
Five Nations.— The Proposal declined. — In consequence of 
the War between England and Holland, Governor Stuyve- 
sandt assumes a hostile Attitude. — Apprehensions of the Col- 
ony from Dutch Intrigues with the Indians. — Explanations 
demanded by the Commissioners, but not made. — Troops or- 
dered to be raised, and War declared. — Massachusetts refuses 
to approve and to sustain the War. — The other Colonies pro- 
test. — The Commissioners declare War against Ninigrate, 
Sachem of Nehantic. — A Dutch Fleet expected.— It fails to 
arrive 132 

CHAPTER XVII. 

Death of Governor Haynes. — The Dutch House at Hartford 
seized, according to Orders from England. — Connecticut and 
New-Haven having petitioned Cromwell for Aid against the 
Dutch, four Ships of War arrive at Boston.— Peace between 
England and Holland. — Massachusetts reconciled. — Trouble 
with Ninigrate.— The Pequods taken under the Care of the 



CONTENTS. IX 

Assembly in 1655. — The New-Haven Code of Laws. — Death 
of Mr. Wolcott. — Proposals from Cromwell and Stuyvesandt. 
— Indian Disturbances. — Death of Governor Eaton Page 139 

CHAPTER XVIII. 

The first Troop of Horse in Connecticut Colony.— Governor 
Wells. — Governor Newman, of New-Haven. — Uncas. — 
Grand Juries established in the Towns. — Uncas's Grant to 
Major Mason. — Arrival of Goffe and Whalley, two of the re- 
gicide Judges of Charles I. — Their favourable Reception. — 
Sent for by Charles II.— Secreted at New-Haven. . 147 

CHAPTER XIX. 

Death of Governor Newman, of New-Haven, and Election of 
Governor Leet. — Distrust of King Charles II. in that Colony. 
— Connecticut applies for a Charter. — It is obtained.— The 
Privileges it conferred.— The Government organized under it. 
— Measures taken to merge New-Haven Colony in that of 
Connecticut.— Opposition and Delay. — The Patent granted 
to the Duke of York.— The King's Commissioners and Ships 
of War arrive at Boston. — The Dread of greater Evils inclines 
New-Haven to unite with Connecticut.— New-York taken by 
the English.— The Dutch Possessions all given up . 152 

CHAPTER XX. 1664. 

Jealousy of the King's Commissioners prevails in the Colonies. 
— The Union of New-Haven with Connecticut urged and ef- 
fected. — The Boundaries of Connecticut on the South and 
West determined. — County Courts and a Superior Court es- 
tablished.— Arbitrary Measures of the King's Commissioners. 
— The King's Colony formed by them. — New-York retaken 
by a Dutch Fleet. — The Troops of Connecticut raised to re- 
pel an expected Invasion. — Her Jurisdiction extended to Nar- 
raganset and the East End of Long Island . . .160 

CHAPTER XXI. 

A new Patent granted to the Duke of York, embracing the 
Territory of the Colony west of Connecticut River.— Sir Ed- 
mund Andross arrives as Governor of the Duke's Possessions. 
— Beginning of Philip's War. — Andross goes to Saybrook with 
Troops, and demands the Surrender of the Fort.— Manfully 
repelled by Captain Bull ....... 170 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER XXII. 

Expedition of the United Colonies against the Narragansets. — 
Situation of the Fort. — They destroy it, with a great Slaughter 
of the Indians.— Continuance of Hostilities. — Measures for 
Defence and Resistance. — Settlements destroyed.— Expedi- 
tions cut off. — Capture and Death of Canonchet . Page 180 

CHAPTER XXIII. 167G. 

Death and Character of Governor Winthrop— Governor Leet 
chosen in his Place. — The Indians pursued and destroyed 
in different, parts of Connecticut and Massachusetts. — Battle 
of Northfield. — Captain Church. — Philip killed at Mount 
Hope, in Rhode Island.— The War terminated . . 187 

CHAPTER XXIV. 1678. 

Edward Randolph misrepresents the Colonies to the King. — 
Death of Governor Leet. — His History and Character. — 
Claims of the Duke of York and Duke of Hamilton. — Sick- 
ness in the Colony.— Colonel Dugan Governor of New-York. 
— Accession of King James If. — Randolph arrives from Eng- 
land to examine the Charters of the Colonies. — Sir Edmund 
Andross made Governor of New-England. — He marches to 
Hartford with a Body-guard, and demands the Charter of 
Connecticut. — It is concealed in the Charter Oak, and pre- 
served 194 

CHAPTER XXV. 1687. 

The Government of Connecticut dissolved by Andross. — His 
Council. — His oppressive Measures. — He denies Indian Deeds, 
and gives Patents for Estates. — Restrictions on Public Rights 
and Personal Liberty. — Condition and Prospects of the Peo- 
ple. — An important Change in their favour brought about by 
that Providence in which they trusted. — William made King 
of England.— Andross seized by the People of Boston. — The 
legal Government restored in Massachusetts and Connecti- 
cut 203 

CHAPTER XXVI. 1689. 

A French Fleet is sent against New- York, but called to Canada, 
to protect that Country from the Five Nations. — The Burning 



CONTENTS. XI 

and Massacre of Schenectady.— Measures for protecting the 
Frontiers.— The Northern Colonies engage in a Land and Sea 
Expedition against Canada.— i\ew- York and the Five Nations 
fail to perform their parts; and General Winthrop returns 
from Lake Champlain with his Army.— Governor Phipps 
makes an unsuccessful Attempt against Quebec— Leisler's 
Treatment of General Winthrop —Vote of Thanks to Mr. 
Mather.— Defensive Measures.— The Invasion of the Five 
Nations by the French —Colonel Fletcher demands the Mili- 
ia of Connecticut to be placed at his Orders. — He is refused. 
~The Boldness of Captain Wadsworth . . Page 210 

CHAPTER XXVII. 1694. 

Sectary Preparations.— The Question about the Militia settled 
.*i favour of Connecticut by the King —The County Courts. 
-Peace between France and England.— Fitz John VVinthrop 
Governor — The Lower House of Assembly. — New Town- 
ships.— The Western Boundary established by the King in 
3700 — Acee.ss.ion of Queen Anne to the British Throne.— War 
declared agdnst France and Spain m 1702, by England, Ger- 
many, and Holland.— Delensive Measures.— Governor Dud- 
ley and Lord Cornbury's Demand for Money.— Their Intrigues 
tn England.— Oppooed by Sir Henry Ashurst.— A Book pub- 
lished against the Colwiy. entitled "The Doom; or, Miseries 
of Connecticut" 219 

CHAPTER XXVIII. 1704. 

Owaneco, the Mohegan Sacmem, \ncited by disaffected Persons 
Jo urge unfounded Claims to Lands purchased by the Colony. 
—Governor Dudley appointed, with a Court, to try thern. — 
The Land-claim of the Mason Family.— The Charges made 
by Governor Dudley brought to a hearing before the Queen 
in Council.— Decided in favour of the Colony.— Governor 
Dudley holds his Court, which gives a Decision in favour of 
Owaneco, treating the Colony with Contempt. — Public Em- 
barrassments 228 

CHAPTER XXIX. 1707. 

& new Alarm of a French and Indian Invasion. — Neighbouring 
Indians suspected and watched — Governor Saltonstall elected 
»n the Death of Governor Winthrop. — General Nicholson's 
Expedition against the French in 1709.— His Army is wasted 
W Sickness at Wood Creek, while waiting for the British 
A 



Ill CONTENTS. 

Fleet. — It does not airive. — The first Paper Money issued by 
Connecticut — Early Printing in Connecticut.— Spirit of the 
French in their Incursions. — The Colonies compelled to seek 
their Reduction for Self-preservation . . . Page 238 

CHAPTER XXX. 1709. 

Application to the Queen for Aid against Canada, and a Prom- 
ise obtained - Preparations made.— The Fleet arrives ill pre- 
pared, and with limited Instructions.— Port Royal captured.— 
General Nicholson makes a new Application to her Majesty. 
—Another Fleet arrives, but unprovided —It is half destroyed 
by a Storm, on the way to attack the Enemy. — The Boundary 
of Connecticut and Massachusetts amicably settled by Com- 
missioners in 1713.— The Hhode Island Boundary line. — The 
Peace of Utrecht, in 1713, causes great Joy. — Population.— 
Finances. — Other Statistics 245 

CHAPTER XXXI. 

The Origin of Yale College— Sketch of its History .—Common 
Schools —A College and Grammar School provided for in 
New- Haven.— Yale College first placed at Killmgworth.— Re- 
moved to Saybrook.— Controversy arising out of a Proposal 
tp remove it from Saybrook to New-Haven. — Established 
there. — Rector Cutler dismissed, and the Saybrook Confes- 
sion introduced.— Law of the Colony to prevent irregular 
Meetings on the Sabbath, and the Abuse of the Sacraments. 
— Mining Privileges granted to Mr. Winthrop. — Mines open- 
ed at Simsbury and Wallingford.— Newgate Prison.— First 
Counterfeiting in the Colony 262 



CHAPTER XXXII. 1715. 

The Repeal of the Charter apprehended. — The Danger re- 
moved.— Ralle's War between the Eastern Indians and the 
Colonies. — Previous Exertions of Governor Shute to concili- 
ate and instruct them.— Intriguer of Ralle.— Dissensions in 
the Massachusetts Legislature. — Attempt to seize him — The 
second Expedition rout the Indians, and Ralle is killed. — 
— Peace sought by the Indians, and amicable Relations estab- 
lished. — Dissensions and Mob in Connecticut about Land- 
chums.— Settled by a Division.— Manufactures and Products 



CONTENTS. XUl 



CHAPTER XXXIII. 1739. 

The Spanish War, 1745.—" The Old French War."— War ex- 
pected between England and Spain. — Preparations. — De- 
clared in 1739.— Forces required against the Spanish Islands. 
— Havana taken, but abandoned in consequence of a great 
Mortality in the Army.— Declaration of War by France. — 
Canso taken by the French.— The Northern Colonies deter- 
mine alone to send an Expedition against Louisburg. -As- 
sisted by Admiral Warren, they capture it after a Siege. — 
Important Consequences. — Campaign of 1746 —Powerful 
Engiish and French Armaments prepared for America. — The 
Pretender's Insurrection in Scotland— The English Fleet not 
sent. — The French Fleet dispersed. Campaign of 1747 — 
Peace of Aix la-Chapelle.— American Conquests restored to 
the French Page 270 

CHAPTER XXXIV. 1747-1756. 

A Period of Peace and Prosperity.— The Custom house Officer 
of New-London suspected oi' Pilfering from the Cargo of a 
Spanish Vessel in store. — A Charge of Participating in the 
Act made against Governor Wolcott. — Mr. Fitch elected 
Governor.— The French strengthen and extend their Posts 
and Fortresses on the North and West — Their Intentions. — 
The Ohio Company. — Fort Du Quesne built by the French. — 
Washington's first Military Expedition. — Its Ill-success.— The 
Union of all the Colonies contemplated.— Meeting of Com- 
missioners at Albany. — Connecticut alone withholds her As- 
sent to a Plan proposed. —No System adopted. — General 
Braddock arrives from England as Commander-in chief. — 
Three Expeditions prepared and sent against Forts Du 
Quesne, Frontignac, and Crown Point —Colonel Monckton 
obtains Possession of Nova Scotia — Braddock's Defeat and 
Death. — Battle of Lake George, and Defeat and Death of 
General Dieskau. — Governor Snirley unsuccessful against 
Fort Frontignac 280 

CHAPTER XXXV. 1756. 

War now declared after a bloody Campaign in America. — Earl 
of Loudon Commander in-chief — Plan of Operations— De- 
lays.— Fort Oswego taken by the French under the Marquis 
of Montcalm. — General Abercrombie does not proceed against 
Crown Point. — The Campaign of 1757— The British Minis 
try send out only a Squadron of Ships to attack Louisburg, 



XIV CONTENTS. 

which attempts nothing. — No sufficient Force being prepared 
at Lake George, Montcalm takes Fort William Henry.— The 
Massacre. — Inhumanity of General Webb . . Page 291 

CHAPTER XXXVI. 1758-59. 

Mr. Pitt Prime Minister of England.— His Energy.— Campaign 
of 1758. — Preparations for the entire Reduction of the French 
Power in Canada. — Admiral Boscawen and General Wolfe 
attack Louisburg.— It Capitulates.— Lord Howe is killed at 
Lake George. — Abercrornbie's unskilful and unsuccessful At- 
tempt against Ticonderoga. — He retreats— Fort Frontignac 
taken by Colonel Bradstreet — General Forbes captures Fort 
Du Quesne.— The Campaign of 1759.— General Amherst ex- 
pels the French from Ticonderoga and Crown Point. — Builds 
a Fortress at the latter Place.— Fort N iagara taken by General 
Johnson. — General Wolfe sails to Quebec with Admiral 
Saunders. — Repulsed at Montmorency.— Scales the Precipice 
to the Heights of Abraham. — Defeats the Marquis of Mont- 
calm.— Quebec Capitulates —General Amherst, with 10,000 
Men, proceeds by Oswego to Montreal— Takes that City. — 
The Marquis of Vaudreuil surrenders all Canada to England 

295 

CHAPTER XXXVII. 1762. 

England at War with most of the European Powers. — A large 
Supply of Troops demanded of the Colonies.— Admiral Rod- 
ney's Expedition in the West Indies captures Martinique and 
the Caribbee Islands.— Admiral Pococke and Lord Albemarle, 
aided by Provincials, take Havana. — The Philippine Islands 
taken from Spain by Admiral Cornish. — Treaty of Peace at 
Fontainebleau gives Florida to England. — Indian War.— Sev- 
eral Fortresses surprised by them. — Much Blood shed on the 
Western Frontiers. — Major Putnam sent from Connecticut 
under Command of General Gage.— Treaty of Peace with 
many Western Tribes. — Settlement of the Susquehanna 
Country by a Colony from Connecticut — Collision with Penn- 
sylvania. — The Question unsealed till alter the Revolution. 
— Connecticut then received in exchange a part of Ohio 308 

CHAPTER XXXVIII. 1701-1762. 

Causes of the Revolution. — The Colonists of New-England 
claim Equal Rights with the Inhabitants of England. — Rea- 
sons why the People of Connecticut valued their Charter. 



CONTENTS. XV 

—First Restrictions on Trade— The Navigation Act ot 1651 
never submitted to in New-England.— Restrictions on Imports 
in 1663— Ditto on Trade between the Colonies in 1672.— 
Board of Trade and the Colonies formed in 1696.— Restric 
turns on Manufactures commenced in 1699-1719.— The Erec 
tion of Manufactories forbidden, and the Making of various Ar- 
ticles.— Appeals from the Courts required tn England in 1680. 
—Governors' Salaries.- Taxes —A Change in the Govern- 
ment contemplated in 1762.— The Stamp Act . Page 318 

CHAPTER XXXIX. 1765. 

The first General Congress of the Colonies.— Declaration of 
Rights.— The Sons of Liberty.— The Stamp Act disregarded. 
— Taxes.— Riots. — Governor Gage sends troops to Boston to 
enforce the Acts of Parliament.— The Taxes repealed, ex- 
cept that on Tea.— Commerce with Boston forbidden. — The 
Government of Massachusetts overthrown.— General Gage 
Governor of that Colony.— Second Congress.— Boston Neck 
fortified.— Preparations for Defence. — First shedding of Blood 
at Concord.— Troops assemble around Boston . . 324 

CHAPTER XL. 1775. 

Surprise of Ticonderoga and Crown Point. — Re-enforcements 
arrive at Boston from England.— The Battle of Breed's or 
Bunker's Hill. — Militia sent from the neighbouring Colonies. 
— General Wooster marches, with 2000 Connecticut Militia, 
to protect New- York.— Congress order the raising of an Ar- 
my.— They appoint Washington Commander-in-chief.— Con* 
dition of Boston on his Arrival.— Expedition to Quebec. — 
Marauding in Long Island Sound 331 

CHAPTER XLI. 1775-1776. 

Discontent of the Militia at Boston.— Spirited Measures of 
Connecticut to furnish Re-enforcements. — Volunteers raised 
there for New- York — Colonel Kuowlton. — News of the Dis- 
asters in Canada. — Troops sent thither. — Preparations to 
evacuate Boston. — Washington occupies Lechmere's Point 
and Dorchester Heights— The British retire in Haste. — The 
Americans enter and occupy Boston. — The Troops sent off to 
New- York in Detachments. — Military Arrangements. — Loy- 
alists sent to Connecticut for Security .... 362 



XVI CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER XLII. 1776. 

British Fleet under General and Lord Howe begins to arrive at 
New- York. —Declaration of Independence —Unfortunate Sit 
uation of General Knox and the Army on Lake Champlain. 
— British Re-enforcements at Staten Island —Call on Con- 
necticut for more Troops.— Fourteen Regiments march under 
Colonel Wolcott. — The Battle of Long Island.— Retreat of 
the Americans. — Militia Desert.— New Re-enforcements from 
Connecticut— New- York Evacuated by the Americans. — 
They are driven into New-Jersey. — Battles of Trenton and 
Princeton Page 360 

CHAPTER XLIII. 1777-1778. 

Danbury burned. — Congress endeavour to restore the Value of 
Continental Money.— They apply to Foreign Powers for aid, 
without success.— General Burgoyne invades New-York from 
Canada.— He is Defeated at Saratoga, and Captured, with his 
Army. — Treaty with France in February, 1778 — Exertions 
made by England to reconcile America.— The French Cabi- 
net betray a selfish Spirit.— Blockade of the British in New- 
port. — The Americans retire. — Massacre at Wyoming. — Final 
Settlement of the disputed Jurisdiction . . . .371 

CHAPTER XLIV. 1779-1781. 

War in Georgia. — Norfolk taken.— Sullivan's Expedition. — Mu 
tiny at Keading, Connecticut. — British attempt to reach Stam- 
ford. — New-Haven taken by General Tryon. — Fairfield and 
Norwalk burned. — Stony Point taken. — Arnold's Treachery. 
— Execution of Andre— Sufferings of the Army in Pennsylva 
nia. — Preparations to Besiege New- York in 1780 — The Seat 
of War changed to Virginia. — Capture of New-London. — 
Massacre at Groton Fort. —English Depredations.— A Con- 
gregation captured on the Sabbath.— Severe Treatment of 
Prisoners.— Siege and Capture of Yorktown. — Negotiations 
for Peace.— Close of the War.— The Army at Newburg in- 
cited to Revolt.— Washington persuades them to be Dis- 
missed in Peace.— He resigns his Commission . . 385 

CHAPTER. XLV. 

The Debt of the Country and of Connecticut at the Close of the 
Revolutionary War.— Mr. Jay's commercial Treaty with Great 
Britain.— Effects in Connecticut.— Various Branches of In- 



CONTENTS. XVH 

dustry and Enterprise.— New Settlements.— Revival of the 
Fisheries.— General Hamilton's Plan for the Encouragement 
of Manufactures. — Importance of Mr. Whitney's Invention of 
the Cotton-gin. — Other Inventions.— The commercial Treaty 
of 1806. — American Commerce with Great Britain Page 403 

CHAPTER XLVI. 1806-1812. 

The Attachment of Connecticut to the Policy of Washington. 
— Her Adherence to the Federal Party.— The iNon-intercourse 
Laws.— The Embargo.— War declared against Great Britain 
in 1812. — Act of Congress to raise 100,000 Militia.— Governor 
Griswold required to detach 3000 Men.— General Dearborn 
applies for Militia to do garrison Duty under United States 
Officers. — He is refused by the Governor. — The Legislature 
approves of his Refusal. — The Ground of it . . .415 

CHAPTER XLVII. 1813-1814. 

The War continues. — The British Squadron off New- London. — 
Three United States' Ships driven by it into New-London. — 
Troops demanded and furnished by Connecticut for their Pro- 
tection and the Defence of that place— Capture of Poutapaug 
by the British.— Destruction of Property. — The Governor and 
Legislature complain that Connecticut is left unprotected by 
the General Government. — Requisition on Connecticut for 
3000 men — Attack on Stonington by a British Fleet.— The 
Coast of the United States kept in a state of Alarm. — The 
Capture of Washington and Alexandria.— Defeat and Death 
of General Ross near Baltimore 426 

CHAPTER XLVIII. 1815. 

The President calls an extra Session of Congress.— Alarming 
Apprehensions from the Enemy. — Mr. Monroe's Plan for in- 
creasing and concentrating the Military Power of the United 
States.— Resolutions passed by the Assembly of Connecti- 
cut, protesting against it as Unconstitutional and threaten- 
ing to Liberty — Casting captured by the Enemy — Petitions 
to the Legislature of Massachusetts for a Convention.— It 
meets at Hartford.— Its Proceedings.— The News of Peace. 
— Received with general Joy 433 

CHAPTER XLIX. 1814. 

Depression of Manufactures.— Fall of Prices.— Immense Moral 
Evils resulting from the Trade with the West Indies.— In- 
temperance prevails.— Temperance Societies . . . 440 



INTRODUCTION. 



The history of Connecticut has strong claims on 
the attention of the intelligent reader : chiefly for 
these reasons, that its founders established their in- 
stitutions on principles essentially great and good, 
and their descendants have wisely sustained them, 
so that they have produced their appropriate fruits 
in sound morals, order, and good government. 
The leading objects for which they left their native 
land, and twice undertook the arduous labour of 
forming new settlements in this then western wild- 
ness, were the extension of the Christian faith and 
the establishment of religious and civil liberty for 
themselves and their descendants. 

The history of the world affords no example of 
colonies founded for objects so pure, lofty, and hoa- 
ourable, except in New-England and Pennsylvania. 
The settlement commenced in Carolina by the 
French Protestants under Admiral Coligny, in the 
year 1502, may perhaps be thought of the fame 
noble character : but these colonists were far in- 
ferior to the English settlers in knowledge and po- 
litical wisdom, and their enterprise soon came to 
an unhappy termination. 

Nothing appears more evident at the present 
day, than that the principles which governed the 
founders of New-England were sound in them- 



Z INTRODUCTION. 

selves, and, therefore, calculated to lead to suc- 
cessful results : but here we should bear in mind, 
that the pilgrims who landed at Plymouth on the 22d 
of December, 1620, were the first to bring these 
principles fairly to a practical test, at a time when 
comparatively few had yet embraced them, while 
the general practice of mankind was directly op. 
posed to them, and had been so from time im- 
memorial. At the period even when the settle- 
ment of Connecticut was commenced, sixteen 
years after the landing at Plymouth, the experi- 
ment of the pilgrims had been but very partially 
tried, or, rather, only just entered upon ; and this 
new offset from the parent stem was no more than 
an extension of the same noble, though, as yet, un- 
proved, plan. North America was at that time 
one vast, unbroken wilderness, with the exception 
of a few small spots occupied by feeble, uncon- 
nected European colonies. Quebec had been set- 
tied by the French in 1608; Jamestown, in Vir- 
ginia, by Captain Smith, with a few English emi- 
grants, in 1609 ; and New-York and Albany, in 
1613, by the Dutch, who, in 1621, extended their 
territorial claim from the Connecticut River to the 
Delaware, giving to the country within these limits 
the name of New-Netherlands ; a few Danes had 
stationed themselves at Bergen, in New-Jersey, 
about the year 1624 ; and some Swedes and Finns 
had formed a settlement on the western side of the 
Delaware near Christiana Creek, in 1626. The 
objects of these colonists were to obtain wealth 
by trade, and to extend the territories of their 
respective sovereigns : but, as Judge Marshall, m 
hi3 history of the American Colonies, remarks* 



INTRODUCTION. XI 

u New-England owed her settlement to a higher 
motive than self-interest." 

On contrasting the widely different results of the 
Spanish and English settlements in America, we 
might be tempted to regret that the latter were so 
long delayed : but a moment's reflection will suf- 
fice to convince us, that New-England was not 
colonized too late for the best good of mankind. 
Half a century previous to that event, few men 
could have been found in England undegraded by 
the old system of things ; and the principles which 
distinguished the pilgrims had been adopted in their 
purity but a short time before their emigration. 
The Bible had then been in the hands of the peo- 
ple long enough to be well understood, and its 
principles had been examined and tested through 
periods of persecution well calculated to develop 
their nature, and forcibly to impress them on the 
minds of those whose lot it was to suffer for con- 
science' sake. Important political questions, too, 
had arisen relative to the authority and obligations 
of rulers and the rights as well as the duties of 
subjects ; and these had so often been brought to 
the great test of the Word of God, that its readers 
had almost necessarily become familiar with the 
true design and the right theory of government. 
Hence it was that the planters of New-England, 
while providing for the perpetuity of their religious 
institutions, adopted most of those great distinctive 
principles on which the system of our republic is 
founded ; though even by them some grave errors, 
the remains of ancient prejudices, were still re- 
tained. 

Hence, though Connecticut, both in extent of ter* 



Xll INTRODUCTION. 

ritory and in the number of its inhabitants, is infe- 
rior to most of the other states of the American 
Union, its history is interesting in a degree quite 
disproportioned to its size and population. 

Second to Massachusetts in the time of its set- 
tlement, this state has exerted a great and salutary 
influence in establishing and maintaining the char- 
acter and institutions of the nation from the earliest 
period of its history. The people of Connecticut 
shared largely in the labours and expenses, the 
dangers and sufferings connected with the wars 
that were waged on our own soil, and those for- 
eign expeditions in which our forefathers were 
sometimes involved in aid of the mother-country. 
They have performed their full part in upholding 
the agriculture, commerce, and manufactures of the 
nation, and in directing its councils; and, while 
multitudes have gone forth to clear and people 
new states, in extent vastly superior to their own, 
at home they have sustained with remarkable uni- 
formity their simple and economical system of 
government, and their truly democratic state of 
society, and have been found under all circum- 
stances among the most zealous and efficient pro- 
moters of learning, sound morals, and religion, of 
good order, civil liberty, and national independence. 

So striking, indeed, has ever been the attach- 
ment of the people of Connecticut to knowledge- 
industry, religion, and the laws, that their state 
has long been designated throughout the Union by 
the familiar though expressive title of " The Land 
of Steady Habits." 

The distinctive character of the people of this 
state, and their social and moral condition, are 



INTRODUCTION. XIM 

doubtless to be ascribed to the principles and in. 
stitutions of their ancestors ; and where effects so 
strikingly salutary are observed, it is a matter of 
great interest to examine and understand the 
causes by which they have been produced. These 
causes must be sought for in the history of Con. 
necticut, a brief and comprehensive view of which 
is attempted to be given in the following work. 
The author has endeavoured to be as full and par. 
ticular in his account as the limits assigned him 
would permit ; bearing in mind the importance of 
making his work, both in matter and style, as ac* 
ceptable as possible to the numerous class of read- 
ers for whose gratification and instruction it is 
especially designed. He feels it incumbent on him 
to express his obligations to the different writers 
consulted by him in the preparation of this volume, 
and to whose productions he in great measure owes 
that taste for the history of his native state and 
country which has been to him a source of the 
highest gratification, and which he would fain as- 
gist in extending among his countrymen. 

Surely this is a study, aside from its greater use- 
fulness, which should be far more interesting to a 
we 11. trained mind than those works of fiction which 
absorb so great a portion of the time of many 
readers ; and the author is persuaded, not only by 
observation and reflection, but by his own experi- 
ence, that it is one from which the young and the old 
may derive equal advantage and delight. When 
quite a child, he often listened to the reading of 
Trumbull's History of Connecticut, with a pleasure 
not exceeded by that which the perusal of more vo- 
luminous works afforded him at a later period in life. 
B 



XIV INTRODUCTION. 

The author has likewise embraced in the foh 
lowing pages the results of inquiries made by him, 
at different periods, among such records of the 
past as he has been able to discover in his visits 
to various parts of the country, and many inter, 
esting facts obtained from persons possessing val- 
uable information. Many of the old forts and bat- 
tle-fields mentioned in this work he has inspected 
at leisure, taking measurements, notes, and draw- 
ings on the spot ; while family traditions and an- 
cient manuscripts have often been usefully con- 
sulted to supply or explain important facts. 



THE 



HISTORY 



OF 



CONNECTICUT. 



CHAPTER I. 

Character and Objects of the Founders of Connecticut Colony. 
— The Founding of New-Haven Colony with similar Designs. 
— Difficulties arising from the conflicting Claims of European 
Sovereigns and of English Patents and Companies.— Claims 
of the Spaniards, English, Dutch, and French.— Justice of the 
English Claim. — Brief Geographical View of Connecticut, 
with its present Boundaries, &c. 

The settlement of Connecticut was commenced 
sixteen years after that of Massachusetts, for the 
same great purposes, and by men of the same origin 
and character. Indeed, the original founders of the 
colony were from Massachusetts, and of the num- 
ber of those conscientious men who had left Eng- 
land in consequence of religious persecution in the 
reign of James I. Finding, after a short residence 
there, that the few settlements about Massachusetts 
Bay were fast filling up with emigrants, and would 
soon be overstocked, and wishing to occupy the 
fertile shores of Connecticut River before they 
should be seized by the Dutch, who were then in 



16 HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 

possession of New-York, they began to prepare for 

s. removal. 

Their principal motives were declared to be, to 
secure freedom of conscience and civil liberty to 
themselves and their posterity, and to make the 
savages acquainted with the Christian religion and 
the blessings of civilized life. Their plan was se- 
riously opposed by their friends in that colony, who 
loved and esteemed them too much to be willing to 
lose them ; but they had deliberately adopted it, 
and were resolved to carry it into execution. The 
first emigration to the banks of the Connecticut took 
place in 1636, the company being composed chiefly 
of married men, with their families, and including 
several religious congregations, with their pastors, 
church officers, and members. 

Two years afterward another colony was founded 
at New-Haven, for the same exalted objects, by a 
congregation which had left England to form a dis- 
tinct settlement by themselves in the forests of 
America. Our attention will be directed to these 
two colonies in turn, up to the period of their final 

union. „ _ . c ~ 

Unfortunately, a part of the territory of Con. 
necticut was included in the claim of the Dutch ; 
several conflicting grants were also made at differ- 
ent periods to companies and individuals in Eng. 
land which occasioned serious difficulties; while 
disputes of a still graver character frequently arose 
between Great Britain and France from their rival 
pretensions in the North, which brought many a 
fleet and army across the Atlantic, and thus at 
different times involved the colonies in war for 
several generations. 



HISTORY OP CONNECTICUT. 17 

The groundwork of these troubles was laid in 
those early times when this part of America was 
known only through the first discoverers : the no- 
tions into which the world was led by their credu. 
lity and ignorance being often so preposterous as 
to excite a smile. When Columbus first made 
known to Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain his dis- 
covery of land in the West, they were disposed to 
claim all the territories which might be found in 
that part of the world : the King of Portugal, how. 
ever, informed them that he considered even the 
West Indies as justly belonging to his crown, in- 
asmuch as his subjects had first visited the Azores. 
With a degree of superstition worthy of Southern 
Europe, the question was at last submitted to the 
pope, who gravely decided that Portugal should 
have all the lands and territories that might be 
discovered within a thousand miles of Europe, and 
Spain all that should be discovered beyond. 

If the potentates of Europe had been at that 
time as submissive to Rome as they were a few 
centuries before, the Western world might have 
passed quietly into the possession of Spain and 
Portugal ; and what would have been now the 
condition of our country, it is impossible to tell. 
But neither Great Britain, nor Holland, nor even 
France, was disposed to consent to this authorita- 
tive partition of the newly-discovered regions of 
the West ; and these powers subsequently took 
possession of different parts of North America, 
supporting their respective pretensions by long 
and bloody wars, until the first-named power ul- 
timately triumphed. 

The claims advanced by Great Britain were 
B2 



18 HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 

founded on the discoveries of John Cabot and his 
son Sebastian, Italian navigators residing in Eng- 
land, who were sent in quest of new countries, 
with an expedition fitted out by the king, very soon 
after the discovery of the West Indies by Colum- 
bus. John discovered Newfoundland in 1494; 
and in 1497 Sebastian coasted from the northeast- 
ern part of the continent nearly to the Gulf of 
Mexico. 

The French laid claim to Nova Scotia, on the 
ground of its having been visited and taken pos- 
session of in the name of their king, thirty years 
afterward, by an Italian navigator in his service, 
Verranzano. The first settlement attempted by 
them was in 1540, which was unsuccessful. 

The Dutch claim to the country about the mouth 
and along the course of the Hudson River, was 
founded on the discoveries made by Hendrick or 
Henry Hudson, who, while in the service of the 
King of Great Britain, explored these regions in 
1609, and afterward sold his right to the States 
General. The Dutch government long persisted 
in maintaining this claim, although it is manifest 
that Hudson's discovery is embraced in that of 
Cabot, which had been made one hundred and 
twelve years earlier, and that the title which he 
pretended to sell was in fact vested in the King of 
Great Britain. 

In regard to Connecticut, the conflicting charters 
and grants that were from time to time given, af- 
fecting different portions of her territory, involved 
the colony in protracted and serious troubles, and 
long left her boundaries unsettled. It will be seen 
in the following pages, that, in consequence of this 



HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 19 

state of things, her limits were finally curtailed on 
every side through the injustice of various claim- 
ants, to whom, for the sake of peace, she chose to 
submit, in a spirit of conciliation deserving no small 
praise. 

A part of these claims, so discordant in them, 
selves and so troublesome to the colony, originated 
in ignorance ; while several of the most vexatious 
were based on grants made or allowed by different 
English kings, or by their officers, whose enmity 
to the colony led them to set justice at defiance. 

The title by which the people of Connecticut 
held the country, was founded on the old patent 
granted by Robert, earl of Warwick, in 1631, to 
Lord Say-and-Seal, Lord Brook, Sir Richard Sal- 
tonstall, and others, associated under the name of 
the Plymouth Company. 

The " Plymouth Council," as it was called, " for 
the planting, ruling, and governing of New-Eng- 
land, in America," was incorpora'ed in 1620 by 
King James I., and from it were derived all the 
grants under which the country was settled. 

In that year, the first pilgrims came over with 
their pastor, the Rev. Mr. Robinson, and landed 
at Plymouth, having been driven from England 
several years before by the severe laws enacted 
against such as refused to conform to the ritual ap- 
proved of by James, as the head of the established 
church. They had resided during this time at 
Leyden, in Holland : but, wishing to remove to 
America, they sought to obtain from the king an 
assurance of religious freedom ; of which, indeed, 
he gave them a verbal promise. Plymouth re- 
mained a separate colony for about seventy years. 



20 HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 

In 1628, the Plymouth Council granted to a 
company the land between the Merrimac and 
Charles Rivers, and three miles north and south of 
them, extending, with the same breadth, to the 
" South Sea." This grant received the king's 
seal the following year; and Mr. Endicott came 
out with three hundred persons to prepare for the 
arrival of a still larger number. They established 
themselves at Salem and Charlestown ; and, sev- 
enteen ships arriving with additional colonists in 
1630, nine or ten towns, including Boston, with 
two thousand inhabitants, were in a short time set- 
tled. Many of the emigrants came over by congre- 
gations, with their pastors ; and among them were 
the greater part of the first settlers of Connecticut, 
and not a few of the men afterward most distin- 
guished in the history of that colony. 

In 1630. the Plymouth Council made a grant of 
Connecticut to the Earl of Warwick, their presi- 
dent. This was confirmed by the king (Charles I.) 
in 1631; and, on the 19th of March in this year, 
the earl conveyed his title 1o the Plymouth Com- 
pany, as before stated. 

This is the original patent of Connecticut ; and 
it comprised all the territory from Narraganset 
River, within forty leagues of the coast, southwest, 
west by south, or west, " as the coast lieth," to- 
wards Virginia; and of that breadth "from the 
Western Ocean to the South Sea." This, as 
President Clapp afterward stated, extended from 
Point Judith to New-York, and inland to Wor- 
cester. Massachusetts, if we take the Narraganset 
River from its source. 

Connecticut, with its present limits, is of an ir« 



HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 21 

regular oblong form, having straight lines for its 
northern and the greater part of its eastern and 
western boundaries. Bordering on Long Island 
Sound to the south, the line of the state there fol- 
lows the irregularities of the coast ; and, running 
southward of west in its general course, the west- 
ern boundary on New-York is considerably longer 
than the eastern on Rhode Island. The state lies 
between 41° and 42° 10' north latitude, and 3° 20' 
and 5° 10' longitude east from Washington. It 
is about 90 miles in length, and 70 in breadth, 
comprising 4764 square miles. Next to Rhode 
Island, Delaware, and New-Jersey, Connecticut 
is the smallest state in the Union. 



CHAPTER II. 

Original Condition of the Country, and the Change in its Ap- 
pearance, &c, which has been produced by Cultivation and 
the Arts of Civilized Life— The Indian Nations or Tribes 
which inhabited the Connecticut and the neighbouring Re- 
gions. — The Connecticut or River Indians. — The Pequods 
and Mohegans. — The Five Nations of New-York, then called 
Mohawks in New-England. — The Narragansets of Rhode Isl- 
and.— Wild Animals. 

How different from its present appearance must 
have been the aspect of Connecticut (as of our 
country generally) when its settlement by Euro- 
peans was commenced; and how difficult it is to 
form a correct idea of its condition at that period, 
arjJ to realize the wonderful change that has taken 



22 HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 

place in two centuries ! Instead of those marks of 
the meliorating hand of civilized man which we now 
everywhere behold, a dense primaeval forest then 
overspread the entire surface, with the exception 
of the fine meadows which here and there border 
the streams, that were reserved by the Indians for 
planting, and a few other spots which they kept 
clear of wood for their hunting-grounds. These 
places were not only destitute of trees, but the 
grass was burned every autumn after it had be- 
come dry, that a fresh green crop might tempt 
the deer and elk to feed there early in the spring. 
Small collections of wigwams were here and there 
to be seen, the occupants of which were accus- 
tomed to remove twice a year : in the winter to 
the sunny sides of the hills, and, during the dry 
season, to the shores of the Sound, the banks of 
streams, or the margins of swamps. Others, again, 
more permanently settled, clustered their rude 
dwellings about a few commanding eminences, or 
spots fortified by nature, to enjoy the protection of 
their chief, and the defence that such a position 
afforded to them. 

Wild animals of different species, now nearly or 
quite unknown in the state, were then numerous in 
its forests. Birds of various kinds abounded in the 
woods, and vast numbers of water-fowl frequented 
the streams, the picturesque little lakes in the inte. 
rior of the country, and the bays and inlets along the 
coast. These last especially became the favourite 
haunts of the Indian tribes, from the abundance of 
food afforded by the different sorts of game and fish, 
and more particularly clams, which were taken in 
vast quantities and dried, to season their " succo- 



HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 23 

tash" (Indian corn and beans) in winter. Some of 
the trees then forming the chief ornament of the 
forest, have now become comparatively scarce, from 
having been extensively used in the construction of 
houses, ships, various kinds of implements, &c, or 
destroyed in clearing the land and by the browsing 
of cattle ; while other varieties foreign to the soil 
have been introduced by that new race of men, be- 
fore whose superior policy and rapidly-increasing 
numbers, the original inhabitants have still more 
completely disappeared. The Indians, as has been 
before remarked, were in the habit of burning over 
their open hunting-grounds : but Dr. Dwight is of 
the opinion that in New-England this practice was 
less common than in some other parts of the coun- 
try, where there exist vast tracts wholly destitute 
of trees, owing, no doubt, to this cause. He thinks, 
also, that the white men adopted to some extent 
the Indian custom of burning, after they came into 
possession of the country. Oak and pine he states 
to have been the most common trees in the south- 
ern parts of New- England, except in mountainous 
and marshy regions. Many of the plants and 
grains now most frequently met with in our fields 
have been introduced from Europe either by acci- 
dent or design, and are annually extending them- 
selves farther westward by the aid of man, or by 
means of seed conveyed by the winds and by birds. 
Some parts of the coast and rivers of Connec- 
ticut were occasionally visited by small parties 
of white men for fishing and trade, several years 
before the settlements were actually commenced. 
From the first accounts we have of the country, 



34 A SETTLEMENT URGED. [1634 

the inhabitants of Newtown or Cambridge, of which 
the Rev. Mr. Hooker and his congregation were 
the principal, finding that the persecutions of the 
Puritans in England were driving more people to 
Massachusetts than could be well accommodated 
with land, or comfortably provided for in the then 
existing state of the country, were disposed to re- 
move to some region more remote from the sea- 
coast. Having heard from persons who had vis- 
ited Connecticut River, of the size of that stream, 
the beauty of its banks, and the fertility of its 
meadows, they applied to the General Court for 
permission to remove to that attractive region. 

To this request a strenuous opposition was made 
by many of their friends and towns-people, who 
represented it to be their duty to remain, as being a 
part of the one body constituting the colony, and for 
the good of the commonwealth, which they had 
promised with an oath to do all in their power to 
promote ; adding that their departure would weak- 
en the colony in the sight of its enemies, and tend 
to discourage many from leaving England to join 
them, whose arrival they desired and expected. 
Mr. Hooker had conceived so favourable an opin- 
ion of the plan, that he employed all his eloquence 
to remove the objections against it ; and, when the 
question was debated in the General Court in Sep- 
tember, as it was with much warmth, he attend- 
ed, and urged at length the various considerations 
which influenced his mind in favour of the project. 

He insisted that the people had not land enough 
to feed their cattle, and were quite unable to offer 
accommodations to new colonists ; that the plant- 
ing of so many towns near each other was inju- 



HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 25 

in their neighbourhood ; and were, perhaps, saved 
from subjection, if not destruction, by a well-timed 
and faithfully-observed alliance with the powerful 
strangers. 

Toe Pequods doubtless belonged to that exten- 
sive family of ihe red race which overspread New- 
England and other northern parts of the Union, and 
a portion of Upper Canada, including the Delawares, 
Chippewas, or Ojibwas, &c, since they resembled 
them all in person, habits, and customs, and, what 
is a still more important mark of identity, in Ian- 
guage. The extensive districts occupied by that 
wide-spread family were encroached upon, in the 
present State of New-York, by a formidable na- 
tion, or, rather, confederacy of tribes, differing from 
them in origin, manners, and dialect. 

These were the Iroquois or Five Nations, who 
afterward acted a conspicuous part in the history 
of the country. They originally, if we may credit 
tradition, came from Canada ; and, before the ar- 
rival of the Europeans, had extended their warlike 
incursions into New-England. No doubt, during 
these hostile invasions, the most shocking barbari- 
ties were practised : for the first intercourse which 
took place between the River Indians and the Pil- 
grims of Plymouth was at the instance of the for- 
mer, to secure protection against the ravages of 
the Mohawks. This appellation was for a long 
time applied in New-England to the Indians of the 
Five Nations generally, from its being the name 
of the particular tribe in that confederacy nearest 
her western borders. These terrible enemies had 
driven many of the Connecticut Indians from their 
native seats ; and others they had reduced to such 
C 



26 THE MOHAWKS. 

a state of depression and alarm, that, to obtain 
some degree of security, they consented to pay a 
heavy tribute ; notwithstanding which, they were 
treated with the greatest rigour on giving the 
slightest cause of offence. The River Indians 
would flee in the utmost terror to their little for- 
tresses on the first rumour of the approach of the 
Mohawks ; and tradition reports, that it was cus- 
tomary with the squaws to frighten their fretful chil- 
dren into stillness by telling them that these dread- 
ful people were coming. Wood thus described 
them in 1634, in his quaint, amusing style :* 

" These are a cruell and bloody people, which are 
wont to come downe upon their neighbours with 

* The following traditionary tale, which is of an early date, 
probably records one of the latest instances of Mohawk murders 
on the banks of the Connecticut The scene was a spot about 
a mile below the city of Middletown,on the ascent of Fort Hill, 
and not far from the river. The cellar of the old house still re- 
mains. 

On a certain day, during the warm season of the year, the 
Indians were assembled in the fort for safety, in consequence of 
an alarm of the Mohawks. The English had no fear for them- 
selves, as they probably had done nothing to offend these terrible 
invaders, who may have also held their power in respect. The 
colonist who occupied the house above referred to had gone 
out, leaving only his wife and infant at home. The woman, 
having placed her child in the cradle, was sitting at her spin- 
ning wheel while it slept; when suddenly a young squaw 
rushed into the room in the greatest terror, and, with a few 
expressive signs, begging that she would not betray her, crept 
under the bed. A moment after, a tall Indian, in his full 
war dress, entered the door, and, brandishing his tomahawk, 
threatened the mistress of the house with instant, vengeance if 
she should attempt to conceal his fugitive. The strange dress 
of the warrior convinced her that he was a Mohawk ; and, fear- 
ing for her child more than for herself, she silently, though re- 
luctantly, poinded towards the bed In a moment he seized hie 
victim by her long black hair; and, dragging her out of the door 8 
in spite of her screams and struggles, laid her dead with a sin- 
gle blow of his tomahawk. 



HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. , 27 

more than savage brutishnesse, spoiling of their 
corne, burning their houses, slaying men, yea, very 
caniballs ; they were sometimes eating on a man 
one part after another before his face, and while 
yet living ; insomuch that the very name of Mow- 
hack would strike the heart of a poor Abergenian 
dead, were there not hopes at hand of releefe from 
the English to succour them : for these inhumane 
homicides confesse that they dare not meddle 
with a white-faced man, accompanyed with his hot- 
mouthed weapon." "These Indians," he adds, 
" be more desperate in their warres than the other 
Indians, which proceeds not onely from the fierce- 
nesse of their natures, but also in that they know 
themselves to be better armed and weaponed ; all 
of them wearing sea-horse skins and bark of trees, 
made by their art as impenetrable, it is thought, 
as Steele, wearing headpeeces of the same, under 
which they march securely, and undauntedly run- 
ning, and fiercely crying out, ' Hadree, hadree, 
succomee, succomee,' * We come, we come to 
suck your blood,' not fearing the feathered shafts 
of the strong-armed bowmen, but, like unruly, head- 
strong stallions, beat them down with their right- 
hand tamahaukes and left-hand javelins, which are 
all the weapons which they use, counting bowes a 
cowardly fight." 

The Pequods were in alliance with the Five Na- 
tions : and thus the more peaceable and inoffensive 
tribes, inhabiting the gentle declivities and verdant 
meadows along the Connecticut, were cruelly dis- 
tressed by implacable enemies both on the east 
and on the west, who seemed to have combined for 
their destruction. 



28 INDIANS BEMAINING. 

The territory of the present state of Rhode Isl- 
and was occupied by another large and powerful 
tribe, that for a long time made a conspicuous fig- 
ure in the history of New-England, and whose re- 
lations with Connecticut were generally of the 
most unfriendly character. These were the Nar- 
ragansets, whose sachem, Massasoit, had extended 
the hand of peace and friendship to the pilgrims a 
few days after their arrival at Plymouth, but whose 
son Philip afterward involved the colonies in the 
most dangerous war in which they were ever en- 



It will be seen, in the succeeding pages, that the 
colonists of Connecticut regarded the ignorant sav- 
ages among whom they were placed with feelings 
of humanity, and as became those professing to be 
governed by the mild and merciful spirit of Chris- 
tianity, treating them with exemplary justice and 
kindness in most instances, though, through the 
blindness of prejudice and habit, they unhappily 
introduced among them the use of ardent spirits, 
which were then and long afterward erroneously 
considered necessary to health. On two occasions, 
indeed, of extreme danger, they adopted severe 
and sanguinary measures towards tribes which 
threatened them with extermination ; and which, 
we regret to say, were of a character, when we 
view them without passion or prejudice, to call 
forth the strongest reprobation. Many efforts 
were made to christianize the Indians, though 
without any considerable success. 

Of all the different tribes that once occupied 
Connecticut, the undisputed lords of the soil, 
scarcely a remnant now remains. Many fell in 



HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 29 

the wars waged among themselves and with the 
whites, on which it will be our unpleasant task to 
dwell at length in this volume; a still greater num- 
ber probably became victims to the intemperance 
which their European visiters had introduced, com- 
mended and encouraged by their own infatuated 
example ; and not a lew withdrew to distant tribes 
in the interior, with which they united themselves, 
that they might enjoy their native independence 
beyond the reach or civilization. In 1773 there 
were found to be 1363 Indians in the colony, " many 
of them in English families, in good order, peace, 
and inclined to idleness." 

A few poor families and single individuals still 
reside on the land reserved for the remnant of the 
Pequods in Groton and that vicinity, for the JNe- 
hantics in Lime, and the Mohegans in Norwich: 
but they are chiefly of mixed blood, and most of 
them have lost nearly every trace of the aspect and 
customs of their ancestors. 

Most of the wild animals which once afforded 
to the Indians active employment in the chase, and 
furnished them with some of their principal articles 
of food and clothing, have long since been destroyed; 
while the few that still exist are confined to some 
of the most thinly inhabited and inaccessible dis- 
tricts. A solitary bear or catamount, and a few 
wolves, have now and then been seen within the 
last few years in the hilly regions of the north- 
western towns. As late as the year 1815, a wolf 
was killed in the southwestern part of Saybrook, 
though, before this, scarcely any had been seen in 
that region since 1770. Two bears were killed in 
Haddam in 1754 and 1767 ; and one in Bethany 
C2 



30 FIRST EXPLORERS. [1631. 

in 1796. Deer were not uncommon in Middlesex 
county up to 1765, when, in a time of deep snow, 
they appear to have been exterminated. The last 
moose seen in that part of the state is believed to 
have been one killed in 1770, in the southwestern 
part of Saybrook. Wild turkeys were numerous 
in the same neighbourhood till 1780; and contin- 
ued to be seen, though more rarely, as late as 1790. 
A panther was shot in Windsor in 1767. 



CHAPTER III. 1631—1636. 

First Explorers of Connecticut River.— The Plymouth People 
invited to settle on its Banks. — Windsor Trading-house. — The 
Dutch Fort and Trading-house built at Hartiord.— Reasons 
for settling the country on Connecticut River proposed to 
Massachusetts.— Objections made to the Project. — Those ob- 
jections honourable to the character of the Colonists —Five 
men spend the winter of 1635-6 at Pyquag, or Wethersfield. 
— Three companies of Colonists form Settlements in 1636 
at Hartford, Windsor, and Wethersfield, first called New- 
town, Dorchester, and Watertown — Lord Say and-Seal and 
his associates send men to build Saybrook Fort. 

It is uncertain whether Connecticut was first 
visited by the English or the Dutch. Both claimed 
to be the first explorers. The river and its fertile 
borders attracted the earliest attention. In 1631, 
one of the sachems living on that stream visited 
Plymouth and Boston, and earnestly solicited the 
governors of those settlements to send a colony to 
occupy the country. He stated that the land was 
exceedingly fruitful, and he promised to give them 



1632.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 31 

eighty beaver-skins a year, and plenty of corn. 
The proposal, however, was not agreed to ; and it 
was afterward ascertained, that the object of the In- 
dians in making it was to secure the protection of 
the English against the Pequods, who, under Pe- 
koath, their chief sachem, were at this time making 
war upon them. 

The next year a small parly went from Ply- 
mouth to Connecticut River, and selected a conve- 
nient spot for a trading-house in the present town 
of Windsor, near the mouth of Farmington River 
and Governor Winslow and Mr. Bradford, of the 
Plymouth colony, proposed to Governor Winthrop, 
of Massachusetts, and his council, that they should 
join them in establishing such a house there, to se- 
cure the country against the designs of the Dutch, 
who were reported to be about carrying into exe- 
cution a similar project. Governor Winthrop, 
however, declined participating in the plan ; as- 
signing as his reasons that such a colony would 
in all probability be destroyed by the Indians, since 
only small vessels could cross the bar at the mouth 
of the river, and, during seven months of the year, 
the ice and the rapidity of the current would pre- 
vent all navigation. The Plymouth people then 
determined to proceed in the enterprise alone ; 
and Governor Winthrop forthwith communicated 
to the Dutch governor information of the commis- 
sion which the English had to trade in New-Eng- 
land. He shortly afterward received a very cour- 
teous reply, requesting him to take no measures 
until the question should be definitively settled be- 
tween Holland and England. 

In 1633, Connecticut River was visited by sev- 



32 WINDSOR THREATENED. [1633. 

eral vessels from Plymouth, and by a party of four 
men, led by John Oldham, of Dorchester, who 
crossed the country on foot. They were received 
with the greatest kindness by the sachem, and 
bought of him a quantity of the wild hemp which 
grew there, which was found to be better than that 
used by the English. In the mean time, the frame 
and other parts of a trading-house were prepared at 
Plymouth, which were shipped and brought into 
the river by William Holmes, with a chosen party 
of men, several Connecticut sachems being also on 
board the vessel. On reaching what is now cailed 
Hartford, they found that the Dutch had erected a 
small fort, mounting two guns, at the mouth of Lit- 
tle River, and Holmes was ordered by them not 
to proceed. He paid no attention, however, to this 
prohibition, but sailed fearlessly by; and, reaching 
Windsor, put up the trading-house, and surrounded 
it with a palisade. The ground had been previously 
purchased of the sachems by the Plymouth people. 
The Dutch had likewise bought twenty acres 
at Hartford, not of the River Indians, who were re- 
garded by the English as the rightful owners, but 
of a chief of their enemies the Pequods, named 
Nepuquash. Jacob Van Curter protested against 
the proceedings of Holmes, and some time after 
made an attempt to drive the English away, in 
obedience to the orders of the Dutch governor, 
Walter Van Twiller, who sent a military force 
for that purpose. The trading-house at Windsor 
was invested by seventy Dutch soldiers, who, how- 
ever, committed no violence, but peaceably retired 
when they found that it could not be taken with- 
out bloodshed. If the soldiers were withdrawn in 



1634.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 33 

consequence of orders from the Dutch governor, 
he deserves no little praise for his humanity. 

The Rev. Thomas Hooker, a celebrated Puritan 
preacher in Chelmsford, England, had been silenced 
in 1630, and fled to Holland to avoid the fines 
and imprisonment with which he was threatened. 
Forty-seven conforming ministers near Chelmsford 
signed a petition in his favour to the Bishop of Lon- 
don, but without effect, notwithstanding that they 
declared him " to be for doctrine orthodox, for life 
and conversation honest, for disposition peaceable, 
and no wise turbulent or factious." The Earl of 
Warwick, president of the Plymouth Company, had 
often attended his preaching. In 1632, a large 
number of the people of Mr. Hooker emigrated to 
Massachusetts, hoping to induce him to follow them. 
They settled at Newtown (now Cambridge) ; and, 
having sent him an invitation to join them, in the 
following year he sailed from Holland in the ship 
Griffin, and landed at Boston on the 4th of Sep- 
tember. He was accompanied by Mr. Samuel 
Stone, a lecturer at Torcester, in Northampton- 
shire, as his assistant ; and in the same vessel 
came out the celebrated John Cotton, also John 
Haynes, Mr. GofFe, and two hundred others. He 
was elected by the people of Newtown to be again 
their pastor, with Mr. Stone for his assistant; and 
the first churches in Connecticut were, in the same 
manner, generally supplied with two ministers. 
The church at Newtown was organized on the 
11th of October. 

The first plan formed for the settlement of Con- 
necticut was proposed to the General Court of 
Massachusetts in the year 1634. A number of 



24 HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 

we learn that it was occupied by inconsiderable 
bodies of Indians, scattered here and there over the 
surface, most of which were connected more or 
less closely with some tribe or petty nation that 
was independent of every other. Of the aborigines 
inhabiting the western part of the state, but lit- 
tle is known ; owing, probably, to their unsettled 
condition, from being exposed to the inroads of the 
Mohawks. Those inhabiting the banks of the Con- 
necticut, comprehended by the English under the 
general name of the River Indians, had their prin- 
cipal seats and strongholds in Windsor, East Wind- 
sor, and Middletown. The Sachem of Walling- 
ford was the sovereign of a large tract of coun- 
try, extending to the Sound, and including New. 
Haven. The eastern part of the state was divided 
between two more powerful tribes : the Pequods, 
whose principal towns and forts were at Groton 
and Stonington, and the Mohegans, who, from 
their chief seat at Norwich, extended their domin- 
ion beyond the present northeastern boundary of 
the state into Massachusetts. 

Of all these, the Pequods were the most warlike, 
proud, and formidable. The traditions of other 
tribes, as well as their own, declared that they had 
fought their way from some unknown part of the 
interior, had made choice of the region which they 
occupied, bordering on the Sound, and lying between 
the Eastern and the Western Nehantics, whom they 
compelled to submit, and had there maintained their 
ground, in defiance of their neighbours. The Mo- 
hegans were a revolted portion of this tribe, who 
appear to have held their independence by a pre- 
carious tenure at the time the white men arrived 



1635.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 35 

dicious ; that the land on the Connecticut was ex- 
ceedingly fertile, and would be amply sufficient for 
their wants ; that the Dutch at Manahadoes (now 
New-York) claimed much of the territory on this 
river that belonged to the English, and were pre- 
paring to occupy it, so that it was highly important 
to anticipate them in its possession ; and that the 
proposed new settlements could be made without 
any difficulty, as many of the people had a strong 
desire to remove to that part of the country. 

Notwithstanding this forcible and interesting ap- 
peal, so warm was the regard entertained for the 
excellent pastor and his devoted people, and so 
great the desire to retain them in the colom r , that 
the opinion of the court was divided. The govern- 
or, two assistants, and a majority of the representa- 
tives consented to the proposal, while the deputy- 
governor and six assistants, with the remainder 
of the representatives, voted against it. The dis- 
cussion produced a high degree of excitement, to 
allay which, according to a custom before and af- 
terward prevalent among the Puritans, it was agreed 
to consider the matter in a solemn, religious man- 
ner ; and the court requested the Rev. Mr. Cotton 
to preach a sermon on the subject before them. 
So great, however, was the unwillingness still man- 
ifested to adopt the plan, that all farther proceed- 
ings were for a time postponed, notwithstanding if 
had been intended to commence the new settlement 
that same season. 

A few of the more zealous and active individu- 
als enlisted in the enterprise had, however, gone 
so far in making preparations as to be unwilling 
to wait until the following year ; and five of them 



36 MR. HOOKER SUCCEEDS. [1636. 

set out from Watertown, and proceeded to Pyquag, 
a place on Connecticut River about four miles be- 
low Hartford, where they erected huts and spent 
the winter. This spot is on the margin of the beau- 
tiful cove, which presents the picturesque open- 
ing seen by the traveller in ascending the stream, 
in the upper part of the present town of Weth- 
ersfield ; and is remakable as being, it is believed, 
the second locality within the limits of Connecti- 
cut occupied by the white men. It is to be wish- 
ed that we could determine the precise spot where 
those adventurous and hardy men erected their 
temporary dwelling. Those who came to Pyquag 
the following year are said to have built their hou- 
ses on the southern point of the cove ; and hence 
it is probable that this was the site chosen by their 
predecessors, it being a narrow ridge accessible to 
the water, and easily defensible against the Indians. 
The cove has been formed since that period, where 
the river then made a sudden bend. 

In the month of May, 1636, the General Court 
of Massachusetts again assembled ; and as time 
had been given the members to consider mature- 
ly the question of the proposed new settlements, 
the arguments urged in their favour could not fail 
to have their proper weight on minds previously 
disposed to decide correctly ; and the result was, 
the petition of Mr. Hooker and his friends, on be- 
ing renewed, was favourably received and granted. 
A resolution was passed, allowing them to remove 
to any place they might choose, with no other con- 
dition than that they should remain under the ju 
risdiction of Massachusetts. 

The history of these proceedings is highly char- 



1636.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 37 

acteristic of the feelings, intentions, and practices 
of the founders of New-England. Having left 
their native country (to which none were ever more 
ardently attached) to avoid a common danger, and 
come to a savage region for objects no less hon- 
ourable to themselves than interesting to mankind, 
they not only established a form of government on 
republican principles, but cheerfully and conscien- 
tiously submitted to its authority, even when op- 
posed to their wishes, and without compulsory povv- 
er to enforce obedience — regarding it as being or- 
dained of God. In this manner, and at that early 
period in the history of constitutional democracy, 
did its disinterested founders display the sincerity 
of their attachment to its noble principles, which 
can be properly appreciated and developed only by 
men worthy of the honour of maintaining, and the 
happiness of enjoying them. They belonged to that 
inconsiderable number of intelligent and virtuous 
men, who had originated and defended in their na- 
tive land the doctrine of the supremacy of the peo- 
ple's rights, at a time when the opposite doctrine 
of the divine right of kings was almost universally 
received. They maintained that the only proper 
object of government is the happiness of the peo- 
pie ; and that none can be legitimate which is not 
administered on this principle. To a government 
thus conducted, they considered themselves bound, 
by the command of God, to render all due honour 
and obedience ; and they were now placed in a situ, 
ation to test the integrify of their character. The 
intelligent reader should bear in mind their posi- 
tion, observe how far their practice corresponded 
T) 



38 ARRIVAL OF MR. WINTHROP. [ 1 636 

with their professions, and whether they honoura- 
bly sustained themselves in the trial. 

The consent of the General Court was no sooner 
fijven, than active preparations for removal were 
commenced, not only in Newtown by Mr. Hooker 
and his people, but by some of the congregation of 
the Rev. Mr. Warham in Dorchester, and by a 
number of persons in Watertown. It was deter- 
mined that a few should go first, to make arrange- 
ments for the accommodation of the rest, who, after 
sufficient time for this object had been allowed, 
fhould follow with their families, cattle, furniture, 
implements, and provisions. Some of Mr. War- 
ham's people were soon on their way, and several 
small parties set out from Watertown. 

A plan for the immediate settlement of Connecti- 
cut had also been formed in England. A company, 
composed of distinguished and wealthy individuals, 
bad been organized in London by Lord Say-and- 
Seal, Lord Brook, Sir Richard Saltonstall, and oth- 
ers, who obtained a charter from the king, grant- 
ing them a tract of land about the lower part of Con- 
necticut River, which they determined to occupy 
without delay. Sir Richard Saltonstall, to whom 
the direction of the business was committed by the 
company, sent out twenty men to Boston, accom- 
panied by David Gardiner, an expert engineer. 
Mr. John Winthrop came over in the same vessel 
as the agent of the company, and brought with him 
several cannon, and two thousand pounds in money, 
with instructions to increase his party to the num. 
ber of fifty, and to proceed to the mouth of Con- 
necticut River, and there erect a fort, with such 
buildings as might be necessary for immediate 



1636.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 39 

use ; and afterward to construct, within the fort, 
comfortable dwellings for several English gentle, 
men, who had determined to establish themselves 
at that place. All the settlers were required to 
live near each other for mutual protection ; and a 
tract of land of from a thousand to fifteen hundred 
acres was directed to be bought for the supply of 
the fort, and as contiguous to it as possible. 

This Mr. Winthrop, who afterward became one 
of the most influential and valuable men of Con- 
necticut Colony, was the son of Governor Win- 
throp, of Massachusetts, and was alike distinguished 
by education, scientific acquirements, public spirit, 
and Christian character. Soon after his arrival at 
Boston, he learned that the Dutch at Manahadoes 
were preparing to occupy the mouth of the Con- 
necticut ; and, with a desire to anticipate them, 
he hastened, as fast as possible, his preparations. 
As soon as he had enlisted twenty men in his en- 
terprise, he sent them round in a small vessel. 
This party was so expeditious that it had already 
begun to build a fort, and had two guns mounted 
before the Dutch made their appearance. The 
latter showed at first some signs of hostility: but 
after a short time they went quietly away, without 
attempting an attack, though they had been sent 
from Manahadoes with express orders to occupy the 
place. Governor Winthrop now made all possible 
despatch in completing his preparations, in which 
he was greatly assisted by Mr. Gardiner, who had 
been appointed lieutenant of the fort. 



40 CHANGES IN THE COUNTRY. [1636. 



CHAPTER IV. 1636-7. 

The Colonists hesitate about removing to Connecticut.— They at 
length Depart. — Difficulties experienced by them on the way. 
— Settlements made by them at Springfield, Hartford, and 
Wethersfield.— Early Winter. — Scarcity of Provisions.— Loss 
of Vessels.— Some of the Settlers return.— Courts formed in 
the Spring. — Mr. Hooker and Mr. Stone, with their Congre- 
gation, travel on foot to Hartford.— Labours of the Colonists, 
and the Dangers to which they were exposed.— Apprehensions 
from the Indians. — The Pequods hostile. 

The colonists, who were preparing to leave Mas- 
sachusetts for Connecticut when Mr. Winthrop ar- 
rived at Boston, were for a while in doubt whether 
they ought to proceed, as the territory they had 
intended to occupy was embraced in the grant to 
the London Company. They finally, however, de- 
termined to go, after making an agreement that 
the company should indemnify them in case they 
should be obliged to leave the lands they might 
occupy, or provide them another place of settle- 
ment. With this understanding they commenced 
their journey : but great were the difficulties they 
encountered. Crowded with an industrious, weal- 
thy, and thriving population, the country now pre- 
sents to our eyes, on every side, marks of civili- 
zation and improvement. We behold a surface 
intersected by innumerable roads, occupied by 
comfortable dwellings, seldom so remote as to 
appear solitary, and towns and villages occurring 
at short distances in every direction. But the 



1636.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 41 

routes now so carefully kept in repair, and where 
the traveller is seen passing along with so much 
ease and rapidity, were then overgrown with an un- 
broken wilderness ; and the streams, now crossed 
by so many dams and bridges, could at that time 
be passed only by fording. 

Although the emigrants had been previously ap- 
prized of these difficulties, they took with them 
their wives and children, their horses and cattle, 
and such provisions as they supposed would be 
necessary on the way, having provided for the 
transportation of their principal supplies and their 
household furniture by water. The journey, which 
is now performed with ease in ten hours, occupied 
this company several weeks : for the passage of 
the streams, and the crossing of hills and swamps 
occasioned frequent and serious delays, encumber- 
ed as they were in different ways. 

On approaching their respective destinations, 
the party divided. The families from Dorchester 
stopped at Windsor ; those from Newtown occu- 
pied Hartford, and those from Watertown, Weth- 
ersfield ; giving to these several places the names 
of the towns which they had left in Massachusetts. 
The new settlements retained those names for sev- 
eral years, when they took those by which they are 
now known. 

Unfortunately, the winter came on much earlier 
that year than usual. On the 15th of November 
the snow had fallen to a great depth, and the river 
being frozen over, a considerable number of the 
cattle driven from Boston could not be got across. 
But, worst of all, the vessels in which their pro- 
visions and furniture had been sent did not arrive: 
D2 



42 SUFFERINGS FROM FAMINE. [1636. 

some of these had been wrecked,* and others did 
not enter the river until the ice made it impossible 
for them to reach the new settlements. Houses 
suitable to protect them against the inclemency of 
the weather, and proper shelters for their cattle 
could not be built, on account of the lateness of the 
season ; and they soon began to suffer both from 
scarcity of provisions and from cold. Under these 
circumstances, some of them set off to return to 
Massachusetts. A party of thirteen lost one of 
their number through the ice in crossing a stream ; 
and the sufferings of the rest were so great, that 
they would probably have all perished but for the 
kindness of the Indians whom they met on the way. 
They were ten days in crossing the wilderness. 
Another company of seventy proceeded down the 
river, with the hope of finding some of the expect- 
ed vessels. Tn this they were disappointed, until, 
arriving within about twenty miles of Saybrook, 
they met with the Rebecca, a vessel of about sixty 
tons, which had been fast enclosed in the ice, but, 
a thaw coming on, she was enabled to return to 
the open water. In attempting, however, to pass 
into the Sound, the vessel unfortunately grounded 
on the bar at the mouth of the river, and could not 
be got off without being unloaded. The cargo was 
again put on board, and, after a voyage of five days, 
they arrived safely at Boston. 

The departure of so great a number of the set- 

*■ A vessel, with six men, which left Boston early in Novem- 
ber for Connecticut, was cast away about the middle of that 
month in Manamet Bay, npar Plymouth 'I he crew wandered 
ten days in the snow. Two other vessels, which were shal- 
lops or large boats, were driven ashore on Brown's l>land, near 
Gurnet's Nose, off' Plymouth, and totally lost, with all on board 



1636.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 43 

tiers afforded a temporary relief to those who re- 
mained : but such was the scarcity of provisions, 
that they were compelled to eat malt and grains, 
and even acorns. They could procure but little 
game, either by hunting themselves or from the 
Indians, owing, probably, to the severity of the 
season. Many of the cattle died, especially at 
Windsor, where the families from Dorchester had 
settled, and whose loss from this alone amounted 
to two hundred pounds. It is not a little remarka- 
ble, however, that many of the cattle which had 
been left on the other side of the river were found 
alive in the spring, having obtained food in the for- 
est, and escaped being destroyed by wild beasts. 

But, great as were their disappointments and 
sufferings, the colonists were not disheartened. 
Relying on God, to whose service they had de- 
voted themselves, they struggled against every 
difficulty, and nobly persevered in their under- 
taking. * Those, therefore, who now enjoy the ben- 
efits of their labours and privations, should always 
hold in grateful remembrance the providence of the 
Almighty, which enabled their forefathers, in the 
midst of so many dangers and difficulties, to lay 
the foundations of a noble state and its invaluable 
institutions. How different was their situation 
from ours — in tne midst of a wilderness inhabited 
only by savages ; without proper shelter, destitute 
of food, and separated by a wide waste from the 
friends they had left behind. Cheerless and deso- 
late indeed must have been this first winter passed 
by the pilgrims on the banks of the Connecticut. 

The arrival of spring at length relieved them 
from most of their trials ; and one of their first 



44 MR. HOOKERS COLONY. [1636. 

acts was to hold a court. According to the sys- 
tem of government which they had adopted, this 
court consisted of two of the principal men from 
each town. They had also determined that, on ex- 
traordinary occasions, these should be joined by a 
committee of three, increasing the number of repre- 
sentatives to five from each town. The court, as 
constituted in the first instance, was authorized to 
transact all ordinary business ; but to conclude 
treaties with the Indians, to declare war, or to 
make peace, they were required to summon the 
attendance of the committees. The first court as- 
sembled at Hartford on the 26th of April, 1636, 
and consisted of Roger Ludlow, Esq. (who had 
been a magistrate in Massachusetts in 1630, and 
had been chosen lieutenant-governor of that colony 
in 1631), Mr. John Steele, Mr. William Swain, 
Mr. William Phelps, Mr. William Westwood, and 
Mr. Andrew Ward. 

It appears from the Records of Connecticut, that 
this court passed a variety of laws for the safety 
and extension of the settlements, one of which pro- 
hibited the sale of arms and ammunition tc the 
Indians. 

As soon as the season would permit, the men 
who had gone in the vessel from Saybrook to Bos- 
ton set out to return. A short time after, as soon 
as the grass began to appear, and the cattle could 
browse in the forests, and the Connecticut had be- 
come navigable, several large companies set out 
from Massachusetts to join their friends in the new 
settlements. 
i Among these, a party which left Cambridge to 
• \ settle at Newtown (Hartford) was of a character 



1636.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 45 

especially deserving notice. It consisted of an 
entire congregation, accompanied by their pastor, 
the Rev. Thomas Hooker, and his assistant, the 
Rev. Samuel Stone. Many of them belonged to 
highly respectable and wealthy families in Eng- 
land, having left their friends and estates at home, 
that they might enjoy unmolested the rights of con- 
science in America. This party numbered about 
one hundred persons, men, women, and children. 
Many of them were loaded with packs, besides car. 
rying their arms, ammunition, utensils, &c. ; and 
they took with them about one hundred and twenty 
head of cattle. Having decided on removing to 
Connecticut, they had disposed of their property in 
Cambridge to a number of English families which 
had arrived the year before, belonging to the con- 
gregation of the Rev. Thomas Shepherd, a man 
distinguished for his zeal and ability. 

Mr. Hooker and Mr. Stone set out with their 
people without any guide. This appears some- 
what singular, as, no doubt, Indians acquainted 
with the country might have been found. They 
probably concluded, however, that the savages 
would be but poorly qualified to choose the best 
route for so large a party of white men, accom- 
panied by their cattle ; the Indians being content 
with paths which admit of their passage in single 
file. Mrs. Hooker was carried in a litter. Nearly 
a fortnight was spent in the journey, at the end o* 
which they safely reached their destination. 

Mr. Hooker and Mr. Stone were both ordained 
on the 11th of October, 1633, and continued asso- 
ciated in the pastoral care of the first church in 
Hartford from 1636 to July, 1647, when Mr. Hook- 



46 DANGER FROM THE INDIANS. [1636. 

er died. Mr. Stone died on the 20th July, 1663. 
He was succeeded by Joseph Haynes, who died in 
1679; after which Samuel Whiting, Mr. Foster, 
and Timothy Woodbridge were successively the 
pastors of this church from 1685 to 1732. 

The party which emigrated from Dorchester to 
Windsor left their pastor, Mr. Maverick, behind, 
he being disinclined to the removal, though he af- 
terward determined to follow his people. He died, 
however, on the 3d of March, and was succeeded 
by Mr. Warham. Some of the principal men 
from that town were Mr. Ludlow, Mr. Henry 
Wolcott, Mr. William Phelps, and Captain John 
Mason. 

Those who went to Wethersfield also le f t be- 
hind them their pastor, Mr. Phillips ; and his place 
was supplied by Mr. Henry Smith, lately arrived 
from England. 

The people of Plymouth Colony now began to 
complain, that the territory on the Connecticut, 
which they considered as belonging to them, and 
which, through their exertions, had been prevented 
from falling into the hands of the Dutch, had been 
occupied by their friends of Massachusetts. Mr. 
Winslow accordingly went to Boston to claim 
some remuneration, and demanded a sixteenth part 
of the lands, and one hundred pounds in money. 
In this, however, he was unsuccessful ; though he 
afterward received fifty pounds, forty acres of 
meadow-land, and some upland from the people of 
Windsor, being what they considered a reasonable 
compensation. 

The infant settlements were exposed to continu- 
al dangers from the Indians, who were accustomed 



1636.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 47 

frequently to change their abodes, as their conve- 
nience required, in procuring game, planting, fish- 
ing, &c. Although they were for the most part 
peaceable and friendly, being ignorant pagans and 
easily excited, they were not to be trusted, and 
might be induced at any time to attack the feeble set- 
tlements of the white people, which were not in a 
condition to defend themselves with much prospect 
of success, should they be suddenly and unexpect- 
edly assailed. It was therefore necessary that the 
colonists should be constantly on their guard. On 
the 7th of June in this year, another court was held 
at Dorchester (Windsor), and a law was passed 
requiring each town to maintain a vigilant watch, 
to provide themselves with arms and ammunition, 
and to have their men organized and constantly 
ready for defence. 

The third court was held at Watertown (Weth- 
ersfield) on the 1st of September following, when 
the able-bodied male inhabitants throughout the 
settlements were ordered to be trained every 
month, and those who were not skilled in the use 
of arms, still more frequently. 

The settlement of Springfield was begun this 
year by a company from Roxbury, led by Mr. 
Pyncheon, and was united in government with the 
other towns. During the first three years, the 
people generally had no immediate hand in the 
management of public affairs. 

It may be readily supposed that the colonists 
took special care to prevent a repetition of the 
calamities to which they had been exposed during 
the preceding winter. To effect this, they were 
obliged to labour incessantly in the erection of 



48 SAYBR00K FORT STRENGTHENED. [1636, 

houses for themselves and barns for their cattle, in 
clearing and planting their lands, and in gathering 
in their crops. Their dwellings were required to 
be so constructed as to be capable of defence ; and 
the solidity with which they were built is shown 
by the great length of time which many of them 
lasted. That the inhabitants of the different towns 
might have a more ready communication with one 
another in times of danger, they early began to 
construct roads, which was a most laborious un- 
dertaking at that period. Trees were to be cut 
down, and obstacles of various kinds removed. 
For the multiplied labours imposed on them the 
colonists were but poorly prepared. Many of 
them were not accustomed to hard work ; the cli- 
mate and soil were new to them ; and it was only 
by experience, and after repeated disappointments 
and losses, that they were enabled to acquire a 
knowledge of the plants best adapted to the coun- 
try, and the proper management of their crops and 
cattle. 

But probably the severest trials they had to en- 
dure were their constant watchings, and the state 
of alarm in which they were kept through fear of 
the Indians. It is said that several watch stations 
were erected in the main street in Hartford, from 
which signals could be made to the most distant 
parts of the town; and that a similar communica- 
tion was afterward kept up between the Wyllis 
mansion and the house of the Rev. Mr. Hooker. 

Early in this year, the construction of the build- 
ings and fortifications at Saybrook was resumed 
with great activity, as Mr. Winthrop had grounds 
for apprehension from both the Dutch and the Pe- 



1636.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 49 

quods. Twenty men were employed there during 
the whole season ; and, before the approach of 
winter, the fort was completed, several houses 
were built, and a quantity of land was brought into 
a state fit for cultivation. Some cattle had also 
been sent on from Boston. 

The whole number of white people at that time 
on Connecticut River was probably about 800, or 
from 160 to 170 families. 



CHAPTER V. 

Hostile Movements of the Pequods. — They attack Wethersfield. 
— They kill Captain Stone on Connecticut River, and Captain 
Oldham at Block Island.— They beset Saybrook Fort.— Others 
killed by them. 

We now approach a period in the history of 
Connecticut, in which its little colonies were threat- 
ened with most imminent danger. The Pequods 
had become very bold and active, and their move- 
ments seemed plainly to indicate that they had 
formed a resolution to destroy the settlers. A 
glance at the map will enable the reader to per- 
ceive how critical was their situation. Windsor, 
Hartford, Wethersfield, Middletown, and Saybrook 
were the only places occupied by the colonists ; and 
their number at each one of these points was very 
small. It is true there were several thousand 
friendly Indians scattered over the intermediate and 
surrounding country ; but they appear to have been 
£ 



50 THE PEQUOD COUNTRY. [1636. 

timid and inefficient, and of but little use to the set- 
tlers as warriors, although some of them were after- 
ward very troublesome neighbours. They had been 
so terrified, oppressed, and weakened by the Mo- 
hawks or Five Nations on the west, and the Pequods 
on the east, as to have quite lost their bold, warlike 
character, if they had ever possessed any ; for in 
no single instance do they appear to have rendered 
any essential aid to the white men, on whom they 
relied for protection from their first arrival. 

Between the oppressors of these poor and afflicted 
tribes there existed a close alliance. It would have 
been terrible enough to the River Indians had they 
been exposed to the Five Nations or to the Pequods 
singly: but both of these formidable enemies were 
arrayed against them, and had combined together 
to harass and destroy them. We need not be sur- 
prised, therefore, that these dejected and terrified 
people should have been backward in joining the 
whites in the war with which they were threatened. 
The thought of entering the country of their ene- 
mies was doubtless dreadful to them ; and, as they 
knew but little of the martial intrepidity, skill, and 
ability of their new friends, and might lose their 
protection in case they should prove unsuccessful, 
they no doubt considered it most prudent not to 
imbitter the enmity of the Pequods by uniting with 
their foes. 

The country of the Pequods was small : but, as it 
afforded abundance of fish and game, the tribe was 
very numerous. They claimed, towards the east, 
all the country as far as Pawcatuck River, the 
present boundary between Connecticut and Rhode 
Island, as we learn from a manuscript, in the office 



1634.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 51 

of the secretary of state. On the north they bor- 
dered on the territory of the Mohegans, and on the 
west extended to Connecticut River. Within these 
limits, however, were embraced the territories of 
the Eastern and Western Nehantics, between which 
two tribes, as has been already mentioned, the Pe- 
quods were said to have seated themselves by force 
of arms. 

In the year 1634, a small vessel had arrived at 
the mouth of Connecticut River from the island of 
St. Christopher's, in the West Indies, for the purpose 
of trading with the Dutch at their fort at Hartford. 
It was commanded by Captain Stone, who lived at 
St. Christopher's. He had eight men with him, 
besides a Captain Norton. Wishing to send two 
of his men up to the Dutch fort by land, he engaged 
some Nehantic Indians to serve as their guides. 
They set off together : but, while the sailors were 
asleep in the wilderness at night, the Indians mur- 
dered them. The captain, after their departure, 
drew up his vessel by the shore ; and, having con- 
fidence in the natives, allowed twelve of them to 
remain on board. These men had before traded 
with him on several occasions : but, from what af- 
terward appeared, there is reason to believe they 
were in a plot with the sachems of the Pequods 
and Nehantics to kill and rob him and his men. 
The sailors happened to go on shore together, leav- 
ing Captain Stone asleep in the cabin ; and the In- 
dians, seizing the opportunity, killed him, and /eft 
his body covered, that it might not be seen. They 
then attacked the others, and soon put them all to 
death, except Captain Norton, who got into the 
cook-room, and defended himself with the greatest 



52 THE MURDER OF OLDHAM. [1635. 

bravery with hi3 fire-arms. He happened, how- 
ever, to place some gunpowder in an exposed situ- 
ation, that he might reload with greater conve- 
nience ; and this accidentally took fire, and burned 
him so much that his enemies were able to over- 
power and butcher him. The property found in 
the vessel was plundered ; and it was proved that 
Sassacus, the sachem of the Pequods, and Nini- 
gret, the sachem of the Nehantics, each had a share. 

In the following autumn the Pequods found them, 
selves in trouble and danger, being threatened by 
two enemies at once. The Dutch, who had suffered 
from them as well as the English, had not shown 
as much forbearance, but killed one of their sa- 
chems, with several of his men, and taken others 
captive. At the same time, the Narragansets had 
attacked them on their eastern border; and these 
were enemies powerful enough to be respected. 
The Pequods therefore felt disposed to conciliate 
the English ; and in November one of their tribe 
appeared at Boston, with a proposal for peace, and 
a quantity of beaver-skins and wampumpeag as a 
present. The governor, however, refused to treat 
with him, and told him the Pequods must send men 
of greater quality. Two other messengers were 
afterward sent, with a present and a similar request. 
The governor assured them that the English were 
very desirous of peace, but would insist on the de- 
livery of the murderers. 

The murder of Mr. John Oldham, by some In- 
dians near Block Island, had been committed in 
1635. He had gone from Windsor to trade with 
them. The crime was discovered by John Gallup, 
who was sailing from Connecticut to Boston. Ob- 



1636.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 53 

serving Mr. Oldham's little trading vessel with 
many natives on deck, and a boat going from it 
loaded with goods, he hailed them, but received no 
answer. Although he had no crew except two 
Narrau-anset Indians and two boys, he sailed up 
and fired upon them with duck-shot, which drove 
them all below. He then stood off, and three times 
ran his vessel against the other, which frightened 
the Indians so much that eleven jumped out and 
were drowned. Then boarding it, he found tour 
Indians remaining, two of whom defended them- 
selves with swords below. The others he bound ; 
and, fearing they might untie one another, threw 
one overboard. He found the body of Mr. Old- 
ham shockingly mangled, and committed it to the 
sea. Taking out everything he could from the 
vessel, he attempted to tow it away : but he was 
obliged by bad weather to leave it in the night. 
Mr. Oldham's two boys were left captives among 
the Indians. 

It proved that the murderers were chiefly block 
Island Indians, with a few of the Narragansets, 
who then governed that island. It was supposed 
that several Indians with Mr. Oldham were in the 
plot, as some of the Narraganset sachems were 
found to be. Those who escaped crossed the 
Sound to the Pequods, and were protected by them. 
The Governor and Council of Massachusetts 
determined to demand satisfaction of the Narra- 
gansets and Pequods for these crimes ; and, ninety 
men having volunteered to form an expedition, 
Captain Endicott was appointed to command them, 
and they first visited Narraganset. There the In- 
dians submitted to their terms, gave up the sons of 
E2 



54 PEQUODS BESET SAYBROOK. [1636. 

Mr. Oldham, and promised good behaviour for the 
future. The Pequods, however, would yield no- 
thing ; and Captain Endicott was ordered to take 
possession of Block Island, kill the men, and then 
recross the Sound to the Pequod country. There 
he was to demand the murderers of the Englishmen, 
and a thousand fathoms of wampum. If he could 
not get the murderers, he was to bring away some 
of the Pequod children as hostages ; and, in case 
the Indians should refuse these terms, he was or- 
dered to compel them by force of arms. He laid 
Block Island waste, but did not kill the inhabitants, 
who fled. He then crossed to Pequod (New-Lon- 
don) harbour, had a skirmish with three hundred 
Indians, and burned their wigwams : but returned 
to Boston without effecting anything farther. 

The Pequods were thought to have then begun 
seriously to purpose the entire overthrow of the 
English. They endeavoured to induce the Nar- 
ragansets to join them in killing them ; and for a 
time they had a prospect of success in drawing 
them into the plot. To prevent it, the Governor 
of Massachusetts invited Miantonimoh and other of 
their sachems to go to Boston, where they formed 
with him a treaty of peace, amity, and trade. 

The Pequods, however, continued to be hostile, 
and closely watched the fort at Saybrook. Several 
of the men having gone in a boat to an island about 
two miles up the river, one day in October, to get 
hay, were assaulted by Indians while they bad the 
hay on their backs, and one, named Butterfield, was 
killed. Eight or ten days after, John Till^y was 
taken captive, having landed about two miles above 
the fort to shoot game ; and the Indians tortured him 



1637.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 55 

in their manner, cutting off his hands and then his 
feet. Being unable to make him cry out or groan, 
they pronounced him a stout man. A party of 
Pequods also ambushed three men, who had been 
sent to keep a house about two miles from the 
fort ; and two were taken prisoners, while the 
other cut his way through the enemy, sword in 
hand. The fort itself was soon so closely pressed 
by the Indians, that the men dared not venture be- 
yond the reach of the guns. The neighbouring 
houses and haystacks were burned, and the cattle 
sometimes came in with arrows sticking in them. 

This state of things lasted, with little intermis- 
sion, through the winter; and when the spring 
came and vessels began to sail, they were so 
closely watched and so much threatened by the 
savages, that navigation was attended with great 
danger. The commander of the fort, Lieutenant 
Gardiner, was once waylaid, with ten or twelve of 
his men, on returning from the marshes which he 
had gone to burn over. The path lay then, as it 
does now, along a narrow piece of dry land, just 
beyond which the savages rose and killed three of 
the Englishmen, wounding the lieutenant and an- 
other, and closely pursued them to the fort. The 
latter died the next day. The Indians thus be- 
came more imboldened ; and they would some- 
times come in boats as near as they dared, and 
challenge the men to come out and fight, saying 
they would kill them "all one flies," and imita- 
ting the dying groans and pious exclamations of 
those whom they had tortured. 

A shallop, on its way down the river a short 
time after, was captured by a number of canoes ; 



56 WAR ON THE PEQUODS PROPOSED. [1637. 

and the crew, having been killed, were cut and 
mangled in a shocking manner, and then hung on 
trees by the water-side, that they might be seen 
by their countrymen. What painful impressions 
would such a sight have made at the present day! 
How doubly distressing must have been the feel- 
ings excited in the state of things which then ex- 
isted, when the people were few, most of them 
known to each other, scattered in feeble settle- 
ments, and in constant dread of the Indians ! The 
cruelties practised by the Indians in their treat- 
ment of their captives greatly increased the dread 
of the whites. Sometimes they cut great gashes 
in their flesh, and filled them with hot embers and 
burning coals ; sometimes they mangled and mu- 
tilated them alive, or burned them to death with a 
slow fire ; and, when they uttered cries or prayers, 
they would imitate, insult, and ridicule them. 

When the court next met, on the 21st of Feb- 
ruary, they addressed letters to Massachusetts, pro- 
posing prompt and severe measures against the Pe- 
quods. They complained that Captain Endicott's 
expedition had done more harm than good, by ex- 
asperating their enemies rather than terrifying or 
enfeebling them ; and offered to send forces to join 
those of Massachusetts, and invade the Pequod 
country. 

It was at this same court determined, that the 
name of Newtown should be changed to Hartford 
(after the birthplace of the Rev. Mr. Stone, who 
was a native of Hartford in England), and that of 
Watertown to Wethersfield. Not long after, tne 
name of Dorchester was changed to Windsor 
These names remain to the present day. 



1637.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 57 

In the following March a re-enforcement of twen- 
ty men was sent to Saybrook fort, under Captain 
Mason ; and after that the Pequods gave the place 
no more trouble. Captain Mason soon returned, 
being relieved by Captain Underhill and twenty men 
from Massachusetts. In April, however, a number 
of Indians laid an ambush at Wethersfield, and sur- 
prised some of the inhabitants on their way to the 
fields, killing six men and three women, and taking 
captive two girls. They also killed about twenty 
cows, and did other injuries. 



CHAPTER VI. 

The Crops fall short. — The Court determine on a War with the 
Pequods.— The troops embark, under the command of Captain 
Mason. — Uncas joins them. — An Indian captured and tortured 
by the Mohegans — The expedition delayed at Saybrook by 
contrary Winds. — Differences of Opinion reconciled. — They 
sail for Narraganset.— Council with Miantonimoh — They 
march into the Pequod Country, guided by Wequash. — Cap- 
ture and burning of Sassacus's Fort and Village. — They re- 
embark, and return to baybrook. 

Thus the colonists continued to suffer under a 
variety of calamities ; but they persevered, under 
a trust in God, whose service they so highly val- 
ued ; and the prosperity which crowned their ef- 
forts to secure religious freedom to their posterity 
is a standing proof that they did not labour nor 
trust in vain. The want of good ploughs and 
other farming utensils caused the crops to be small ; 
and, while the coarse grass which then grew in 



58 EXPEDITION AGAINST THE PEQUODS. [1637. 

their meadows was poor, they were unable to make 
their hay, as well as to till their ground in the best 
manner. So many cattle died for want, that a good 
cow was not to be bought for less than thirty shill- 
ings, while Indian corn was worth five shillings a 
bushel, and every other necessary bore a corre- 
sponding price. 

On the 1st of May a court met at Hartford, com- 
posed of Messrs. Ludlow, Welles, Swain, Steele, 
Phelps, and Ward, magistrates, and Messrs. Whi- 
ting, Webster, Williams, Hull, Chaplin, Talcott, Gef- 
fords, Mitchell, and Sherman, committees. They 
resolved on war against the Pequods, to be carried 
on by the three towns. Hartford was required to 
furnish forty-two men, Windsor thirty, and Weth- 
ersfield eighteen ; and supplies were voted for this 
little army of ninety men. The people exerted 
themselves to favour the enterprise. When the 
news reached Massachusetts and Plymouth, their 
governments ordered troops to co-operate : the 
former two hundred men, the latter forty ; and 
Captain Patrick set out immediately, with forty 
soldiers, to join the Connecticut troops as soon as 
possible. 

On the 10th of May, Captain Mason embarked 
his troops in a pink, a pinnace, and a shallop, and 
sailed for Saybrook. He had been joined by sev- 
enty Mohegans from the place now called Nor- 
wich, under the command of their sachem, Uncas. 
Mason was an experienced officer, having been 
bred to arms in Europe. Mr. Stone accompanied 
the expedition as chaplain ; and the embarcation 
at Hartford was attended with a solemn religious 
service performed on the shore. The water being 



1637.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 59 

low, the vessels several times got aground ; and 
delays occurred, which rendered the Mohegans so 
impatient, that they requested to be set on shore 
at a little distance above Saybrook fort. On their 
way thither by land they encountered a party of 
about forty Pequods, of whom they killed seven 
and took one prisoner. The captive was recog. 
nised as an Indian who had lived in the fort, where 
he had been kindly treated, and learned English, 
but had secretly acted as a spy, and informed Sas- 
sacus of what he saw. He had been present at the 
death of all the English killed at Saybrook. The 
Mohegans insisted on taking his life in their cus- 
tomary manner, and the English did not interfere, 
as they ought to have done on every principle ol 
humanity and religion. The savages therefore 
made a fire, tore or cut him limb from limb, and 
ate his flesh with shouts and dancing, burning what 
remained of their inhuman banquet. 

The vessels were detained by contrary winds 
till Friday. There was also a difference of opin- 
ion with respect to the best manner of proceeding : 
the under officers generally wishing to obey in- 
structions by landing in Pequod harbour, while 
Mason preferred to avoid the numerous Indians 
who he had learned were assembled there, with 
sixteen muskets among their other arms, and to 
proceed to Narraganset, whence he might approach 
their forts by an unguarded route, and where they 
might be joined by recruits. Mason had received 
much information about the Pequods from the two 
girls they had captured at Wethersfield, whom the 
Dutch had just ransomed. Such was the religious 
character of the Connecticut people in those days, 



60 PLAN OF ATTACK. [1637 '. 

that the officers requested their chaplain to pray to 
God earnestly for direction in the difficult circum- 
stances ; and he spent the greater part of Thurs- 
day night in prayer. In the morning the officers 
expressed their concurrence with Mason ; and, as 
the wind permitted, on Friday, the 19th of May, 
the vessels sailed for Narraganset. Captain Ma- 
son, however, had sent twenty men back to guard 
the towns, and received in their places Captain Un- 
derhill and nineteen men from the fort. 

Passing by Pequod harbour, the expedition reach- 
ed the Narraganset country on the 20th ; and Mason 
and Underbill, landing with a guard, marched to the 
plantation of Canonicus, one of the sachems, who 
sent for Miantonimoh. That chief held a council 
with the English, and promised aid ; but advised 
them to wait for Captain Patrick, of whose arrival 
an Indian runner or messenger apprized them while 
assembled in council. But the Connecticut men 
were very impatient to accomplish the objects of 
the enterprise, that they might return. The troops 
therefore set off, accompanied by many Narragan- 
sets ; and a considerable number of Eastern Ne- 
hantics joined them when they had reached their 
country. Captain Mason was so fortunate as to 
procure a faithful Pequod guide. This was a man 
named Wequash, who had lived among the Narra- 
gansets for some time, and was acquainted with the 
country and situation of the enemy. 

The first plan was to divide into two detach- 
ments, and attack both the Pequod forts at once : 
but the weariness of the men, the distance of Sas- 
sacus's fort, the difficulties of the way, and the de- 
sertion of many of the Indians, inclined the English 



1637.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 61 

to follow the advice of their guide, and march in a 
body for the nearer fort at Mystic. They reached 
a marsh between two hills at twilight, and en- 
camped by two rocks, now called Porter's Rocks, 
where they slept on the bare ground. Some of 
the sentinels were near enough to the fort to hear 
the shouts of the savages, who were rejoicing at 
what they supposed to be the timidity of the Eng. 
lish : for, having seen their vessels sail by a few 
days before, they thought they had not courage 
enough to attack them. They spent most of the 
night in feasting and dancing, and then sunk into 
a deep sleep. 

On the morning of the 28th of May, the troops 
were ordered out about two hours before daylight ; 
and, after addressing prayers to God for guidance 
and success, they marched silently on, in the light 
of a clear moon : the Indians who remained with 
them falling behind with strong marks of fear. 
Wequash having informed the captain that the fort 
was on the top of the hill before them, he proceeded 
to the northeastern side, while Captain Underbill 
marched to assail the western. As Mason ap- 
proached within a rod or two of the fort, a dog 
began to bark, and an Indian cried out, '* Owanux ! 
Owanux !" (English ! English !), and some of the 
savages immediately appeared and endeavoured to 
repel them. But they received a general volley 
from their assailants through the poles or palisades 
with which the fort was surrounded ; and, a moment 
after, the English rushed in at the gate sword in 
hand. The Indians made a resolute stand at first, 
but were soon driven back through the principal 
street of the village which their fortifications en- 
F 



62 RETURN OF THE TROOPS. [1637, 

closed. Some of Underbill's party soon fell on 
them in that direction, and they were obliged to 
seek shelter in their wigwams, but still kept up a 
desperate resistance. It proved impossible to dis- 
lodge them from these by force: for, when an 
Englishman entered a wigwam, he was set upon 
by several Indians at once. Numbers having been 
killed and the others being weary, Mason cried 
out, " We must burn them ;" and, taking a fire- 
brand from a wigwam, he set it in a flame, and the 
whole village was soon in a blaze. Mason had 
been educated in Europe as a soldier ; and even 
the Puritans retained too much of harsh feeling 
towards enemies. The English then formed a cir- 
cle round the fort, and the friendly Indians another 
behind them, to prevent the escape of the Pequods \ 
and thus, with most unjustifiable cruelty, they killed 
six or seven hundred men, women, and children 
in the course of one short hour : only seven esca- 
ping, and seven being captured. The others were 
shot as fast as they climbed up the palisades or ran 
out of the fort to avoid the fire. The English had 
two killed and twenty wounded. 

In about an hour after the destruction of the 
fort, the three vessels were seen entering Mystic 
harbour. At the welcome and unexpected sight, 
the troops marched towards the shore to embark, 
followed by three hundred Pequods, who had come 
from Sassacus's fort on seeing the light of the fire. 
A constant skirmish was kept up, in which several 
Pequods were killed, but none of the English. 
They re-embarked and sailed for Connecticut; 
and thus the expedition was terminated, and th© 
troops reached home again in about three weeks 
after its sailing. 



1637.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 63 

In the mean time, the other and principal fort of 
the Pequods also was burned ; not by an enemy, 
but by themselves : for the Indians threatened to 
kill their sachem, Sassacus, for having by his pride 
drawn on the nation the vengeance of the English. 
His chiefs, however, interceded for him ; and, af- 
ter destroying their fort and village, they all fled 
in different directions : Sassacus, Mononotto, and 
seventy or eighty chief counsellers marching for 
Hudson River, intending to seek refuge among 
the Mohawks. The others, by the secrecy and 
caution for which the Indians are so remarkable, 
long avoided discovery, and eluded their enemies 
who went in pursuit of them. 

Late in June, Mr. Stoughton arrived at Pequod 
harbour from Boston with 120 men ; and, having 
captured eighty Pequods in a swamp, killed all the 
men except two sachems, who promised to guide 
them to Sassacus. Forty men soon joined the 
Massachusetts troops at Pequod harbour ; and, 
with the advice of Mr. Ludlo ■ , who was with 
them, the army pursued the fugitives westward. 
They found the places where they had encamped 
every night, and observed that they travelled slowly, 
and had to dig clams and search the woods foi 
food. On reaching Menunkatuck (now Guilford), 
they found that they could not obtain informa- 
tion from their two captives, and beheaded them. 



64 REFLECTIONS ON THE EXPEDITION. [1637. 



CHAPTER VII. 

Reflections on the Expedition against the Pequods.— Captain 
Stoughton, with troops from Boston, pursues the Pequods. — 
The Swamp Fight at Fairfield — Mononotto's Wife. — Severe 
treatment of Prisoners.— The Colonies suffer from scarcity 
of Food.— Military Arrangements in Connecticut. 

The enemy had now been dislodged, and their 
country was open to the colonists : but many of 
the Indians were wandering in the wilderness, and 
likely to fall upon some of the little scattering towns, 
which might probably have been overwhelmed as 
easily as their own had been. And it is not to 
be wondered at that the people should have been 
extremely apprehensive : for they had melancholy 
experience in their own feelings and conduct of the 
horrible influence of war. Though they had been 
educated as Christians, and wished to be guided 
by the laws of God, some of them had just de- 
stroyed by fire and sword many innocent persons, 
including women and children, with a few guilty 
ones ; and what made- this proceeding the more 
blameworthy was, that the sufferers were poor 
ignorant savages, who had never been taught the 
duty of man or the nature of God. They might, 
therefore, well imagine what the Pequods would 
do if allowed to recover from their panic or to 
assemble in great numbers ; and they thought that 
their own safety required the entire reduction of 
their enemies, as plainly as it had before demanded 
the bloody attack they had made upon them. 



1637.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 65 

We cannot say with certainty what might have 
been the effect if a different course had been pur. 
sued • but there is reason to think that more hu- 
mane measures might have proved both safe and sue 
cessful When William Penn, on a certain occasion 
some years later, found that the Delaware Indians 
were dissatisfied with a bargain they had made for 
the sale of some land, though some of his friends 
proposed to make war upon them, he rejected the 
idea with abhorrence ; and, sending for the chiefs, 
asked what they wanted, and paid them to their 
satisfaction. The consequence of such treatment 
was, the Delawares long and faithfully maintained 
peace and amity with Penn and his people, lhe 
New-Englanders set the first example in proclaim- 
ing and regarding the principles of justice and hu- 
manity towards the Indians; and Penn had the 
humanity uniformly to adhere to them. 

Some'measures were indeed taken to conciliate 
the Pequods before their destruction : but there is 
reason to presume that, if a humane course had 
been farther pursued, war might have been avoided. 
It is true that those Indians were proud and cruel, 
and regarded the English as their rivals ; but, if 
a few good and intelligent men had visited them, 
and taken pains to convince them of their good in- 
tentions and friendly wishes, they might have per- 
suaded them to desist from their treachery and 
cruelty. The Connecticut settlements were doubt- 
less in threatening danger : but they ought to have 
confided in God for protection rather than have un- 
dertaken an indiscriminate slaughter of old and 
young, innocent and guilty. Happily, we shall not 
J F 2 



66 FURTHER PURSUIT OF THE PEQUODS. [1637. 

often be called to condemn the people of Connecti- 
cut for inhumanity. 

We have reason to think that the Pequods are 
spoken of with unmerited severity by some of the 
New-England historians. " The Pequants" (or Pe- 
quods), says Wood, !• be a stately, warlike people, 
of whom I never heard any misdemeanour; but 
that they were just and equal in their dealings ; 
not treacherous either to their countrymen or 
English : requiters of courtesies, affable towards 
the English." It would have been difficult to give 
higher praise of any savage tribe in their condition ; 
and it gives us reason to presume that the Pequods 
were equal to the neighbouring Indians in humanity 
and good faith. It is true they are chargeable with 
perfidy, deceit, and violence : but this was proba : 
bly chiefly owing to their sachems ; and the wom- 
en and children ought to have found more mercy 
than they received. John Oldham was a man of 
a restless, troublesome character, who had been 
tried and punished in Plymouth, and was a kind of 
outcast. He may have provoked the Indians to 
his murder, as they declared Norton had done, who, 
they said, had killed some of the Indians. Wood's 
book was published in London three years before 
the Pequod war. 

Captain Mason was soon after appointed to the 
command of forty men, who were ordered to be 
raised for the prosecution of the war. 

This force united with that under Captain Stough- 
ton at Pequod Harbour (New-London), whither 
Mr. Ludlow and several other gentlemen from 
Connecticut went, to advise on what should be 
done. They decided on pursuing the Pequods in 



1637.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 67 

their flight westward ; and the vessels were order- 
ed to sail along the Sound, while the troops were 
sent to scour the land in search of them. It is to 
be remembered that the country was then a perfect 
wilderness, not a habitation of a single white man 
being found south of Wethersfield in any part of 
the present state, excepting only at Saybrook Point. 
The only paths through the forest were such as are 
found in the wildest parts of Africa : mere foot- 
tracks, overhung by trees, and often impeded by 
vines and bushes, and barely passable by men 
walking in single file. 

The troops took a few straggling captives, but 
were unable to ascertain where the main body of 
the enemy were, or whether their chiefs were with 
them or not. At length they reached Menunka- 
tuck (now Guilford) ; and tradition says that they 
had a fight with a small body of Indians on the 
shore, at a spot thence named Bloody Cove. His- 
tory states that, having found that the sachems 
whom they had kept as prisoners would not give 
them the promised information, they beheaded them 
at the little harbour (near that spot), hence called 
Sachem's Head. They then marched for Quinne- 
piack (now New- Haven), which they reached in 
three days. On approaching it they saw a great 
smoke, which they supposed proceeded from a Pe- 
quod encampment : but it led them to a party of 
their friends, the Indians of Connecticut River. 
The troops there embarked in the vessels ; and, af- 
ter waiting several days, a Pequod informed the of- 
cers that a large number of his people were con- 
cealed in a swamp a few miles westward. The 
troops therefore hastened to the place, which was 



68 THE SWAMP FIGHT. [1637. 

in the present town of Fairfield, just west of the 
village, near the road. There they found a piece 
of ground thickly overgrown with trees, and so wet 
and muddy that it was almost impossible to enter 
it without sinking into the mire. The Indians ap- 
pear to have occupied a firmer spot in the middle, 
being about 80 or 100 warriors, with about 200 
others, including women and children. 

Some of the white men rushed in, with Lieuten- 
ant Davenport at their head. They were, however, 
glad to escape alive : for the Indians, in despera- 
tion, met them so boldly that some were wounded, 
and several sunk into the mud, and would have been 
killed had not others come promptly to their res- 
cue, sword in hand, and saved them from the tom- 
ahawk. After more fighting, some of them asked 
for a parley ; and, it being gladly granted, they 
said that the Indians who resided near the spot, 
and had gone in with the Pequods, desired to come 
out. Mr. Thomas Stanton acted as interpreter, be- 
ing acquainted with some of the Indian languages 
and manners ; and he was authorized to promise 
life to all who had killed no Englishmen. About 
two hundred old men. women, and children accepted 
the offer, and came out in companies. But the Pe 
quod warriors not only refused, but attempted to 
kill the interpreter, who was shot at, and would 
have lost his life but for the interference of some 
of the soldiers. The fight then began again, but 
ceased as night approached, when the soldiers sur- 
rounded the enemy, to watch them till morning. 
The Indians, under a thick mist, made several vio- 
lent attacks on different sides to break out, and at 
length sixty or seventy of the bravest forced their 



1637.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 69 

way through and escaped. Only about twenty 
were killed, who would not yield. 

The women and children were divided among 
the troops of the different colonies. Some of those 
taken by Mr. Winslow for Massachusetts were 
sold as slaves in the West Indies ; and this act of 
inhumanity we will not attempt to justify or ex- 
cuse. A very interesting scene occurred in the 
course of the Swamp Fight (as this battle was 
called), which we may contemplate with greater 
pleasure. A delicate Indian female proceeded 
from the woods with two little sons, and presented 
herself before Mr. Winslow with such an air of 
modesty and dignity, that he, although accustomed 
to the manners of the British court, was greatly 
struck with admiration and respect. She declared 
herself to be the wife of Mononotto, the second sa- 
chem of the Pequods ; and said that she had come 
to the English with only two requests, viz., that 
she might receive no personal injury, and that the 
lives of her children might be spared. It was 
known that she had before done the white men a 
service, by saving the lives of the two young wom- 
en taken captive at Wethersfield by her interces- 
sion ; and not only was her petition granted, but 
Mr. Winslow gave particular orders for her pro- 
tection and accommodation, declaring that he was 
astonished at the natural grace and dignity of that 
untaught Indian female. 

The prisoners told the colonists that thirteen 
sachems had been killed, and the same number 
had escaped. After this fight a number of scat- 
tered Pequods were killed by the Mohegans and 
Narragansets, who carried their heads to Hart- 



70 CLOSE OF THE WAR. [1638. 

ford and Windsor. About twenty chief warriors 
had fled for refuge beyond the Hudson to the Mo- 
hawks, with Sassacus and Mononotto, taking with 
them about 500 pounds' worth of wampum : but 
they were all killed by them except Mononotto. 
Sassacus's scalp was sent to Connecticut in the 
autumn. 

At length a number of Pequod warriors came to 
Hartford, and offered to be the servants of the 
English if they would spare their lives. This was 
promised them ; and the court took them under 
their protection. The court then requested Uncas 
and Miantonimoh to meet the Pequods at Hartford ; 
and they came on the 21st of September, 1638, 
when a firm covenant was made with them for 
the division of the surviving Pequods (about 200, 
besides women and children) among the Mohe- 
gans and the Narragansets (80 to Miantonimoh, 
20 to Ninigret, and 100 to Uncas), for a perma- 
nent peace, an appeal to the English in case of dif- 
ficulty between the Indians, and the mutual forgive- 
ness of all injuries. The Pequods were not to in- 
habit their own country, nor to be called Pequods 
again, but to be known by the names of the nations 
to whom they were given. Neither Narragansets 
nor Mohegans were to have any of the Pequod 
country without the consent of the English. The 
Pequods were to pay an annual tribute of a fathom 
of wampum for every sannop or warrior, half a 
fathom for every young man, and a hand for every 
male papoose (or child). A public thanksgiving 
was observed in all the towns for the establishment 
of peace. 

The following winter was one of great scarcity. 



1638.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 71 

The fields had been much neglected, in consequence 
of the absence of the men during the war ; and 
clothes as well as food were at high prices. The 
court contracted with Mr. Pyncheon to buy 500 
bushels of corn of the Indians, and forbade others 
to purchase of them at the time, lest the price 
should be raised. A committee was appointed to 
bring a vessel load from Narraganset : but the 
winter was remarkably cold, and the price rose to 
twelve shillings a bushel. In the midst of the dis- 
tress, a committee was sent about eighty miles up 
the river, to Pocomtock (now Deerfield in Massa- 
chusetts), and the people had the pleasure of seeing, 
in the spring, fifty canoes come down at a time, 
laden with corn, to Windsor and Hartford, which 
they received with lively gratitude to God. 

The court felt it necessary to pay their war debt, 
and provide for the complete arming of all the men 
in the colony, and laid the first tax, which amounted 
to 550 pounds. 

On the 8th of March Captain John Mason was 
appointed major-general of the militia of Connecti- 
cut. The military staff was delivered to him by 
Mr. Hooker ; and doubtless, as Trumbull remarks, 
"it was performed with that propriety and dignity 
which were peculiar to himself, and best adapted to 
the occasion." The general was directed to in- 
struct the soldiers in each town in discipline ten 
times a year, and was paid £40 annually. Laws 
were passed the same year for the protection of 
the Indians in all their rights, and for the preser- 
vation of peace. 



72 SETTLEMENT OF NEW-HAVEN. [1638 



CHAPTER VIIL 

Mr. Davenport and his Company arrive at Boston from England. 
— They are urged to settle in Massachusetts.— A Committee 
of their number visit Winnipiack.— The Settlement of New- 
Haven begun there in 1638.— The "Plantation Covenant" 
formed. — Purchases of Land by the new Colony. — The Char- 
acter and Objects of the Founders. — Planting of Milford, 
Guilford, Fairfield, and Stratford. 

New- Haven, the most beautiful city in Connecti- 
cut, and probably in America, distinguished above 
others in the state by the number of its inhabi- 
tants and as the seat of Yale College, was first 
settled in 1638. The settlers were a band of 
pious Englishmen, consisting in part of the Rev, 
Mr. Davenport and his congregation, and including 
a number of men of wealth, in which respect they 
differed from the colonies which had preceded them. 

Mr. Davenport had arrived in Boston the pre- 
ceding year, in company with Mr. Samuel Eaton, 
Theophilus Eaton, Esq., Edward Hopkins, Esq., 
Mr. Thomas Gregson, and a considerable number 
of persons besides, who had left England to escape 
persecution, and to take up their abode in America. 
Mr. Davenport had been distinguished in England 
as a minister of great learning and piety. Messrs. 
Eaton and Hopkins had been successful merchants 
in London, and the former had resided three years 
in India, where he held the office of deputy-gov- 
ernor. Great exertions were made in Massachu- 
setts to induce this wealthy company to remain id 



1638.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. "3 

that colony. The people of Cambridge proposed 
to relinquish to them their whole town, and the 
General Court to give them any place which they 
might select : but they preferred to penetrate far- 
ther into the interior of the country. Having heard 
favourable reports of the land west of Connecticut 
River, made by persons who had traversed it in 
pursuit of the Pequods, Messrs. Davenport, Eaton, 
and Hopkins requested their friends in Connecticut 
to purchase for them, of the native proprietors, all 
the land to Hudson River ; and this object was partly 
accomplished by the next autumn, when Mr. Eaton 
went to explore the country with some of his party. 
That highly respectable company appear to have 
had several reasons for not remaining in Massa-" 
chusetts. Mr. Davenport held the opinion that no 
reformation in the church had ever been carried 
farther than where it was left by those who intro- 
duced it ; and he probably thought that the system 
adopted in the new colonies was defective in some 
points not likely to be improved. He was a de- 
cided opponent of Antinomian doctrines, which at 
that time had progressed in Boston. Besides, he 
and his associates were apprehensive that the king 
would soon send out a governor-general of New- 
England, to whose authority they did not wish to 
be subject. Fully resolved on making a new set- 
tlement at a distance from the others, in the au- 
tumn of 1637 Mr. Davenport, with several of his 
friends, visited the shore of Long Island Sound, with 
the commercial and other advantages of which they 
were much pleased. They selected the place call- 
ed Quinnepiack by the Indians, and by the Dutch 
Roeabert ; and, having built a hut there, a few of 
G 



74 SETTLEMENT OF NEW-HAVEN. [1638. 

their number spent the winter in it. This ivas the 
first habitation known to have been ever erected 
there, and, indeed, on any part of the Connecticut 
coast west of Saybrook fort. The settlement of 
New-Haven, however, did not really begin until the 
following year. 

On the 30th of March, 1638, Messrs. Daven- 
port, Prudden, and Theophilus and Samuel Eaton 
sailed from Boston with their companions. They 
reached Quinnepiack in about two weeks. On the 
18th of April they spent their first Sabbath there, 
and in a truly Christian manner, viz., in the worship 
of God, and the strict observance of his holy day. 
The people assembled in the shade of a large oak- 
tree, at the place where George-street now crosses 
College- street ; and Mr. Davenport preached an ap- 
propriate sermon from the 6th chapter of Matthew, 
1st verse : " Take heed that ye do not your alms be-' 
fore men to be seen of them, otherwise ye have no 
reward of your Father which is in heaven." 

Shortly afterward, a day of fasting and prayer 
was observed ; and at the close of it they formed 
what they called a " Plantation Covenant," in which 
they solemnly bound themselves, " That, as in mat, 
ters that concern the gathering and ordering of a 
church, so also in all public offices which concern 
civil order, as choice of magistrates and officers, 
making and repealing laws, dividing allotments of 
inheritance, and all things of like nature, they 
would, all of them, be ordered by the rules which 
the Scripture held forth to them." This was in- 
tended to be their rule until they should form a 
more intimate mutual acquaintance, and then they 
designed to covenant together as Christians. 



1638] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 75 

The colonists at Quinnepiack applied themselves 
with the utmost diligence to the labours necessa- 
ry in their new condition ; and these were, unhap. 
pily, greatly increased by a remarkably backward 
spring. The corn rotted in the ground, so that 
they found it necessary to replant two or three 
times ; and, as the same cause affected the other 
colonies, great apprehensions of a dearth were en- 
tertained in all except that of Quinnepiack, which 
was probably supplied by its wealthy founders. 

A remarkable earthquake occurred on the 1st 
of June in that year, which caused much conster- 
nation throughout New-England. The first shock 
was felt between three and four o'clock in the af- 
ternoon, and was accompanied with a sound like 
that of continued thunder, or the rolling of wheels 
on a pavement. It lasted four minutes ; and the 
motion of the earth, which was from west to east, 
threw down many chimneys, and vessels from 
shelves, and made a commotion in the waters along 
the coasts. Repeated shocks were felt during 
twenty days. At the time of the first shock the 
weather was clear, and the wind from the west. 

The first purchase of land at Quinnepiack was 
made on the 24th of November, 1638, of Momau- 
quin, the sachem of that region. He and his peo- 
ple had been driven away by the Mohawks and 
Pequods, and their numbers had been reduced to 
forty men : but, under the protection of the Eng- 
lish, they had returned ; and, in gratitude, their sa- 
chems gave to Messrs. Eaton, Davenport, and oth- 
ers, their heirs and assigns for ever, " the land, 
rivers, ponds, and trees, with all the liberties and 
appurtenances belonging to the same." He cov- 



76 PLAN OF NEW-HAVEN. [1638. 

enanted also that the Indians should keep true faith 
with the English in all things ; and, on their part, 
the English promised to protect them, and to give 
them a sufficient supply of land on the east side of 
the harbour, and a number of articles as a present. 
This agreement was signed ; and the interpreter, 
Thomas Stanton, declared, in the presence of God, 
that he had faithfully performed his duty as inter- 
preter. 

Another purchase was made of Montowese, son 
of the great sachem of Mattabeseck, including ten 
miles north and south, and thirteen east and west : 
that is, the old towns of New- Haven, Branford, and 
Wallingford, and most of what now forms East. 
Haven, Woodbridge, Cheshire, Hamden,and North. 
Haven, besides those just mentioned. 

The founders of New- Haven displayed much 
taste and judgment in laying out their town ; and 
the inhabitants at the present day enjoy the bene- 
fit of their forethought, while every visiter to that 
beautiful city admires the regularity of its streets, 
and the conveniences which they afford, as well as 
the beauty of the fine open square which was re- 
served in the centre for a walk and public buildings. 
Around it were formed eight squares of equal size, 
with broad streets between them. These have been 
divided by narrower streets ; and, as they have now 
long since been occupied with buildings, many new 
squares have been added, some of them lying ob 
liquely to the first. 



1639.1 HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 77 



CHAPTER IX. 

The Constitution of Connecticut Colony, formed January 14th, 
1639. — The Condition of the Towns which required it* — The 
Preamble and Provisions. — The Constitution of New Haven, 
formed June 4th, 1639. — Settlement of Guilford, Stratford, and 
Say brook. 

The towns on Connecticut River had thus far 
lived in much harmony and sympathy, under gov- 
ernments connected only by choice. They never, 
until 1639, formed an express constitution for a 
permanent union. It was planned and adopted in 
a perfectly democratic manner : for the people 
proceeded on the simple and equalizing principles 
of a Christian church, as they regarded it, and from 
the pure source of the Gospel did they design should 
flow their civil system, as well as their ecclesiasti- 
cal and social state. 

The first Constitution of Connecticut was formed 
in Hartford, after mature deliberation, at a meeting 
of the free planters of all the towns, who assembled 
on the 14th of January of that year. The pream- 
ble states, in substance, that they formed one pub- 
lic state or commonwealth for the establishment 
of order and government, and that they confeder- 
ated, for ihemselves and their successors, to main- 
tain the liberty and purity of the Gospel, and the 
discipline of the churches according to its institu- 
tion. The constitution provided for two General 
Courts or Assemblies annually, on the second 
G2 



78 FIRST CONNECTICUT CONSTITUTION. [1639. 

Thursdays of April and September ; elections to 
be held at the former for at least six magistrates 
and all other public officers, by the freemen, by bal- 
lot ; and for choosing a governor for a year, or un- 
til another be chosen, to be bound by an oath to ex- 
ecute the laws, and to be guided by the Scriptures 
in cases for which no law existed. It declared all 
to be freemen who had been received as members 
of towns, and taken the oath of fidelity to the com- 
monwealth. The governor was required to be a 
member of a regular church, and to have been a 
magistrate ; and he could not be elected more than 
once in two years. To be a candidate for a ma- 
gistrate, a man was required to be a freeman, and 
to be nominated by the freemen or the General 
Court. The Assembly in September was to meet 
only for the enactment of laws. Three deputies 
were to be sent by each of the three oldest towns, 
and as many by the others as the Assembly should 
determine ; and the deputies were to exercise all 
the powers of their respective towns. In case the 
governor should refuse to call an Assembly, it 
might be called by the constables on a vote of the 
freemen, choose a moderator, and proceed with 
full power. The adjournment of an Assembly 
could not take place without a majority of votes 
of members ; and a tax could be laid only by a 
committee formed of an equal number of repre- 
sentatives from all the towns. The governor had 
a casting vote. 

It is worthy of attention, that a constitution 
showing so much sagacity, foresight, devotion to 
the public good, and the happiness of posterity, and 
founded on principles so thoroughly democratic, 



1639.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 79 

was made more than two hundred years ago, at a 
time when the rights of man were so imperfectly- 
understood and so generally denied in other parts 
of the world. There are but few constitutions in 
existence even at the present period, in which the 
principles of equal rights are as distinctly avowed 
and as carefully protected : while, in most of the 
countries of Europe, the most intelligent men at 
this day deny the reasonableness or the possibility 
of sustaining a community on such a foundation. 

The first Assembly under the constitution met 
at Hartford in April, 1639, and consisted of the 
following deputies : Messrs. John Steele, Spencer, 
John Pratt, Edward Stebbins, Gaylord, Henry Wol- 
cott, Stoughton, Ford, Rayner, Boosy, George Hub- 
bard, and Richard Crab, by whom John Haynes 
was chosen governor, Mr. Ludlow deputy-govern- 
or, and Mr. Wells treasurer. The magistrates 
were Messrs. Ludlow, George Wyllys, Edward 
Hopkins (who had become a resident of Hartford), 
Thomas Wells, John Webster, and William Phelps. 

The first law passed was entitled the Bill of 
Rights ; and it ordained that, " unless by virtue of 
an express law of the colony sufficiently published, 
or, in defect of such law, by some plain rule of 
God's word, in which the whole court shall concur, 
no man shall lose life or good name, be arrested, 
restrained, banished, dismembered, or in any way 
punished, deprived of wife, children, or property, 
under colour of authority." 

A noble testimony was also given, by the pas- 
sage of another law, to the truly republican char- 
acter of the people : it being ordained that all per- 
sons in the colony, whether inhabitants or not, 



80 CONSTITUTION OF NEW-HAVEN. [1639. 

should enjoy the same law and justice without 
partiality or delay. 

At the new colony of Quinnepiack, or New-Ha- 
ven, a constitution was formed a short time after- 
ward. Having postponed it until the second year, 
the free planters assembled in a large barn, and lis- 
tened to a sermon from Mr. Davenport on Proverbs, 
ch. ix., v. 1 : " Wisdom has builded her house, she 
has hewn out her seven pillars." He taught that 
a church should rest on seven pillars. The colony 
had been recently joined by more emigrants, chiefly 
other members of Messrs. Davenport's and Eaton's 
company (from Kent and Surrey, near London), 
and Mr. Whitfield and members of his congrega- 
tion. Among them were William Leet, Esq., 
Messrs. Samuel Desborough, R,obert Kitchel, and 
William Chittenden. 

Mr. Davenport, after a solemn invocation of the 
Divine Majesty, proceeded to represent to the plant- 
ers that they had met to consult respecting the set- 
tling of civil government according to the will of 
God, and for the nomination of persons who, by 
universal consent, were in all respects the best 
qualified for the foundation work of a church. 
He enlarged on the great importance of the trans- 
actions before them, and desired that no man would 
give his voice in any matter until he fully under- 
stood it ; and that all would act without respect to 
any man, but give their vote in the fear of God. 
Several questions were then proposed by Mr. Dav- 
enport, which having been considered, six resolu- 
tions were passed, declaring " that the Scriptures 
hold forth a perfect rule for the direction and gov- 
ernment of all men, in all duties which they are to 



1639.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 81 

perform to God and men, as well in families and 
commonwealth as in matters of church;" that the 
Scriptures should be their guide in all matters of 
church and state ; that all who desired to become 
free planters had settled there with a wish to be 
church members, and felt " bound to establish such 
civil order as might best conduce to the securing 
of the purity and peace of the ordinance to them- 
selves and their posterity according to God ;" that 
only church members should be free burgesses and 
choose magistrates ; and that twelve men should 
be chosen and tried, who might choose seven to 
begin the church. It was then agreed that every 
person to be received as a free planter should sign 
those articles. After a term of trial, Theophilus 
Eaton, and Messrs. Davenport, Newman, Gilbert, 
Fugill, Punderson, and Dixon were chosen the 
seven pillars of the church. 

This constitution was formed with the same great 
leading objects as those of Connecticut, Massachu- 
setts, and Plymouth : to establish government on 
the principles of Christianity, by which the people 
should be secured to the latest generations in the 
enjoyment of equal liberty and justice. The found- 
ers believed that the source of excellence of char- 
acter was true piety ; that the best friends of man 
were the servants of God ; and that those who did 
not profess to regard the Bible as his word, nor to 
make it their rule of conduct, were not most likely 
to understand the public interests, to appreciate 
and faithfully to consult them. We, at the pres- 
ent day, differ from them entirely in the opinion 
that a religious test is the safest ; and, in a larger 
population than they had to provide for, they would 



82 CHARACTER OF THE FOUNDERS. [1639. 

doubtless have found many difficulties in conduct- 
ing public affairs which they did not find among a 
few men, well known to each other, who had sep- 
arated themselves from their country to enjoy in a 
wilderness their similar principles. We must, 
however, all unite in respecting the purity of their 
intentions and the exalted nature of their objects ; 
for it is impossible for any men to adopt more phil- 
anthropic, noble, and sacred motives than theirs. 
We should remember, also, that they had derived 
their political principles from their religious ones, 
and had not much reason to expect that other men, at 
that time, would imbibe them from any other source. 
In our day, millions of men who do not profess re- 
ligion, both in this country and in other parts of the 
world, are advocates of freedom and equal laws, be- 
cause they have witnessed their good influence un. 
der the operation of such institutions as were es- 
tablished by the founders of New-England. In 
1639, such men were generally opposed to such 
institutions, which it was thought could not safely 
be trusted in their hands. The love of power was 
not the predominant motive with the legislators of 
New-England. Like Washington, they preferred 
the commonwealth to self-aggrandizement, and felt 
a high delight, as well as a solemn impression of 
duty, in keeping the political atmosphere free from 
every taint and impurity. 

Roger Williams felt compelled to exclude the 
friends of Rome from political power in Rhode- 
Island, as the supposed enemies of New-England 
principles. Penn could not find higher principles 
than these, either for political institutions or in in- 



1639.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 83 

tercourse with the Indians, though in some points 
he was more faithful in applying the latter. 

Those pure and sincere men, the founders of 
Connecticut, denied the divine right of kings, and 
had been led, by their observations, experience, 
and reflections in England, to the conclusion, that 
man is too frail in judgment and virtue to be safely 
trusted with the uncontrolled government of others. 
Many melancholy evidences of this had been pre- 
sented in English history. The whole fabric of 
government in Europe, too, they saw to be built on 
principles destructive of the equality taught in the 
Scriptures. That book opposes no established po- 
litical system, but inculcates respect and obedience 
to all. They thought, however, that, for laying the 
foundation of a new government, they could find 
in it nothing like a plan, except in the constitution 
of a church, and no principles but the simple ones 
of equal rights and equal d uties. These they adopt- 
ed ; and in the application of them to a system, they 
proceeded with a degree of honesty, solemnity, and 
caution which should be imitated by their success- 
ors. If we or any other people can determine 
how to proceed with greater wisdom, happy will it 
be ; and if we are always guided by objects as no- 
ble and motives as pure, we may think we have 
done our duty. 

In the same year (1639), settlements were com- 
menced at Wopowage (now Milford) and Menun- 
Katuck (now Guilford), and the government of each 
was formed on the plan of New-Haven. The seven 
pillars in Milford were the Rev. Mr. Prudden, Will- 
iam Fowler, Edmund Tapp, Zechariah Whitman, 
Robert Treat, Alexander Bryan, and John Ast- 



84 SETTLEMENT OF FAIRFIELD. [1639. 

wood. Those of Guilford were Henry Whitfield, 
Robert Kitchel, William Leet, Samuel Desborough, 
William Chittenden, John Bishop, and John Caf- 
finge. These men formed courts, and were to be 
guided by the Scriptures until a written code should 
be drawn up. The lands in those towns and in 
New- Haven were purchased by their principal 
men, and held in trust for the people, who, after 
contributing to pay the expenses of surveying, &c, 
drew lots proportioned to their contributions. 

Milford (including a part of Derby) was bought 
from the Indians, and settled by men chiefly from 
Wethersfield. They purchased also a large tract 
on the west side of Stratford River. The Indians 
were numerous, and the planters palisaded the town 
plat, nearly a mile in circuit. The Guilford In- 
dians soon moved away, as that was agreed in the 
sale of the town. The settlers were farmers from 
Surrey and Kent in England, and chose Menunka- 
tuck because the soil on the great meadow on the 
shore of the Sound resembled that they had left. 
This had been kept cleared by the Indians, and the 
heaps of shells which they had thrown up increased 
its fertility. 

Sasco or Fairfield was also purchased, and set- 
tled by Mr. Ludlow and eight or ten families. He 
had seen the land while engaged in the war. A 
company of settlers soon after came from Water- 
town, and another from Concord. The town was 
formed under the jurisdiction of Connecticut. Cu- 
pheag and Pughquonnuck (now Stratford) were 
settled by Mr. Fairchild from England, John and 
William Curtis and Samuel Hawley from Roxbury, 
and Joseph Judson and Timothy Wilcoxson from 



1639.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 85 

Concord. Others joined them ; and Mr. Adam 
Blackman, an Episcopal minister from Leicester 
and Derbyshire in England, was their first pastor. 
It is said that he brought several of his congrega- 
tion with him. The whole township was not pur- 
chased until 1672, and then several reserved tracts 
were excepted. 

At Saybrook preparations had been early made 
for some gentlemen of wealth and distinguished 
families, among whom was Oliver Cromwell, after- 
ward Lord Protector of England : but the war and 
the state of the country had prevented, and left it 
as it was, with only twenty men, and the soldiers 
in the fort. About midsummer arrived Mr. George 
Fenwick, with his pious and amiable wife, Lady 
Arabella Fenwick, who left the highest refinements 
of England for our then wild country, and whose 
monument is now the only remaining memorial of 
the position of the fortification in which it is said to 
have been placed. Mr. Fenwick had come to take 
possession of a large tract of land on the river for 
the patentees, and to commence a large town, which 
he laid out, and named Saybroofc, after two of them : 
Lord Say-and-Seal and Lord Brook. 

Mr. Thomas Peters was the first minister ; and 
the principal men were Captain Gardiner, Thomas 
Leffingwell, Thomas Tracy, Captain John Mason, 
and Messrs. Huntington, Baldwin, Raynolds, Back- 
us, Bliss, Waterman, Hide, Post, and Swift. We 
learn from tradition that Mr. Fenwick expected 
Saybrook Point to become a large commercial 
city ; and that the regularity of its streets and 
fields, and the public purposes assigned to several 
squares, are all traceable to his plan. Saybrook 
H 



86 DIFFICULTY WITH THE PEQUODS. [1639. 

I 

then embraced part of Lyme, and extended north 
eight miles, and west to Kenilworth, which is now 
called Killingworth. 



CHAPTER X. 

Difficulties of Connecticut with Sowheag, sachem of Middle- 
town. — Pequods driven from their old Planting Grounds by 
Captain Mason. — Trouble with the Dutch. — Incorporation of 
Towns. — Execution of a Pequod Sachem at New-Haven 
— Treatment of the Indians.— Purchases of Land for new 
Towns. 

But, while so many were employed in the more 
pleasing occupations of peace, the conduct of some 
of the Indians had nearly led Connecticut into an- 
other war. It was discovered that Sowheag, the 
powerful sachem, the remains of whose fort are 
still to be seen at the entrance of the straits at 
Middletown, had played the traitor the preceding 
year : for, with some of the Indians of Wethers- 
field, he had aided the Pequods in the murders 
they had committed there ; and he had treated 
with contempt those who demanded the criminals. 
Mr. Stone and Mr. Goodwin were sent by the 
court to persuade him : but, as they failed, and he 
continued to ill treat the colonists, the court agreed 
to send 100 men to take the offenders. The New- 
Haven council, however, prevailed on them not to 
take so hasty a step ; and thus, by their humane 
advice, no doubt saved much bloodshed. 

There was difficulty this year with the Pequods, 



1639.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 87 

who, in violation of their agreement, had planted 
fields with corn in their former country, at what 
is now New-London ; and Captain . Mason was 
sent, with forty men, to dislodge them and to 
bring oiF their crop. Uncas joined him with 
twenty canoes and 100 men. Mason sent a warn- 
ing to the Pequods from Pawcatuck Bay, but je- 
ceived no answer. He suddenly attacked their 
wigwams and drove the Indians away ; and while 
Uncas's men were carrying off the corn, about sixty 
Pequods rushed upon them from a hill. The Eng- 
lish, who had never seen an Indian fight, had now 
an opportunity, and were struck with their peculiar 
mode of making and repelling an assault. The 
Mohegans stood perfectly still as their enemies ap- 
proached, until they were within about thirty yards, 
and then set up a yell and fell upon them, striking 
with bows and knives. The English marched to 
cut off the retreat of the Pequods, but would not 
fire upon them ; and they fled, leaving seven pris- 
oners. These men behaved with such violence 
that some wished to kill them : but, at the request 
of Otash, the brother of Miontonimoh, who offered 
to give up the heads of seven murderers, they were 
delivered to Uncas, to be exchanged in that manner. 
The next morning 300 Indians appeared, with some 
threatening language : but they declined fighting 
with the English, who, they said, were spirits ; 
and Mason having, according to the orders of the 
court, burned the wigwams and carried off the 
corn and twenty canoes, with the help of the Mo- 
hegans, brought back his men in safety. We can- 
not but think that, if milder measures had first been 



88 EXECUTION OF NEPAUTUCK. [1639. 

tried, and a kind remonstrance made to these poor 
Indians, the effects might have been better. 

These were not the only things that gave the 
new colonies serious apprehensions this year. 
The leading Dutchmen at Manahadoes (New- 
York), who, being from a Protestant country, 
ought to have sympathized deeply with them, had 
come to America for trade, and not for religious 
purposes, and were influenced by the changing re- 
lations between Holland and England. The peo- 
ple at Hartford received notice that they would be 
no longer permitted to trade with the Dutch at 
Fort Good Hope ; and, at the same time, Kieft, 
the new and energetic governor of Manahadoes, 
protested against the settlement of New-Haven. 
The court therefore sent a committee to confer 
with Mr. Fenwick about a confederation of all the 
colonies for mutual offence and defence, and found 
him favourable to it. 

The several towns of the colony were incorpo- 
rated this year, and authorized to form courts of 
their own, of three, five, or seven men, for the de- 
cision of all cases of trespass and debt not exceed- 
ing forty shillings, and were ordered to keep pub- 
lic legers for the record of all houses, lands, and 
transfers thereof, which transfers could not be 
valid until so recorded. This was the origin of 
the privileges of particular towns. The new towns 
had also particular courts of magistrates, to meet 
once a quarter, for the trial of appeals, and all land 
titles and larger causes : having the jurisdiction of 
the present county and superior courts, and discre- 
tionary powers not allowed at the present day. 

On the 30th of October, Nepautuck, a noted 



1639.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 89 

Pequod sachem, was executed at New- Haven. In 
his trial it had been proved that he killed John 
Finch of Wethersfield, took prisoner one of Mr. 
Swain's daughters, and aided in the death of three 
men in a shallop on the river. His head was cut 
off by an executioner so inexpert, that he gave sev- 
eral blows at his neck before he succeeded, the In- 
dian sitting upright. The head, according to the 
barbarous custom still prevalent in Italy, was stuck 
up in the market. place. 

The planters of Connecticut proved by their con- 
duct that they did not seek to obtain undue advan- 
tage over the Indians. Even the Pequod war was 
not undertaken for the purpose of increasing their 
territory, but only in self-defence ; for they did not 
need their lands, nor did they use them for a con- 
siderable time. If they had wished for them, they 
would have preferred to pay several times their 
value. They allowed the other tribes all the land 
they claimed after the destruction of the Pequods, 
and took none without paying a satisfactory price. 
Indeed, in most cases they bought the land in large 
tracts, and afterward paid for it again in smaller 
ones, when they wished to occupy it. In some in- 
stances, they thus purchased land thrice, and, with 
the repeated presents made to the sachems, the 
sums they spent were very large. It was admitted 
by good judges at the time, that they paid more 
than the land was worth, even after the improve, 
ments were made ; and large estates were expend- 
ed by some of the settlers in buying land at such 
prices as should prevent any dissatisfaction among 
the natives. At the same time, they allowed them 
the right of hunting and fishing on the ground they 
H2 



90 NEW SETTLEMENTS. [1640. 

had sold, as freely as the English, and to dwell and 
cut wood on it for more than a century ; and re- 
quired the towns, by law, to reserve proper tracts 
for the Indians to cultivate. Laws were made to 
protect them from injury and insult ; and the col- 
onists were at much expense to protect some of 
them (Uncas and the Mohegans especially) from 
their enemies. 

Uncas sold to Connecticut all his land, except 
what his people planted, on the 1st of September, 
1640 ; and Westfield (then Waranoke) was pur- 
chased and occupied. Governor Haynes bought 
Farmington (or Tunxis), with its beautiful meadow, 
for Hartford ; and Governor Hopkins built a tra- 
ding-house there. In 1640, also, part of Norwalk 
was purchased, but only a few families occupied it 
until 1651, when the western part of it was obtain- 
ed. About the same time, New-Haven purchased 
Greenwich (now the southwestern town in the 
state) ; but the settlers of it revolted to the Dutch, 
and Governor Stuyvesandt incorporated it. Other 
purchases were made by New-Haven : first, of 
Stamford (or Rippowams), from the sachems Po. 
nus and Toquamske, for thirty pounds ; second, 
Southold (Yennycock), on Long Island ; and, third, 
a large tract on Delaware Bay and River, where 
trading-houses were erected, and about fifty fam- 
ilies sent to settle. Connecticut also made a pur- 
chase of land on Long Island. It extended from 
Oyster Bay to Holmes's Bay, and back to the mid- 
dle of the great plain, and settlements were begun. 

Stamford was settled by families from Wethers- 
field, a division in sentiment having unhappily aris- 
en among the members of the church there, who 



164L] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 91 

had come without their pastor, and long suffered 
from discord. The churches of the other towns 
and colonies exerted themselves to restore har- 
mony, and removal was at length agreed on by 
some of the Wethersfield people. Some of the 
principal of these were the Rev. Richard Denton, 
Messrs. Matthew Mitchel, Thurston Rayner, An- 
drew Ward, Richard Coe, and Richard Gilder- 
sieve. In 1633 or 1634, Mr. Denton, with a part of 
his congregation, settled Hempstead, on Long Isl- 
and. 



CHAPTER XL 

Fears of an Indian War.-Precautions.-The ten Capital Laws 
of Connecticut.-The Confederation of the New-England 
Colonies formed in 1645.-Its Objects and History.-The 
Preamble and Provisions. --Results^Miantornmoh makes 
War on Uncas.-The Battle of Sachem's tteld -Miantoni- 
moh made Prisoner.-Taken to Hartford.-Killed by Uncas. 

In the year 1641, an Indian war was apprehended, 
and orders were given for all the men to be pre- 
pared for defence. A careful watch was kept, and 
on the Sabbath there was a strong guard posted in 
every place of public worship. The Court of Con- 
necticut sent to request the Dutch to sell no more 
arms and ammunition to the Indians, and to pro- 
pose to settle all disputes : but were treated with 
insolence. At this the Dutch in Fort Cood Hope, 
at Hartford, received runaways from justice and 
their masters, purchased stolen goods, and assisted 



92 CAPITAL LAWS. [1641. 

criminals in breaking jail. The Dutch governor 
of New- York also imprisoned some of the Connecti. 
cut settlers on Long Island, and broke up the col- 
onies there as far as Oyster Bay, as well as those 
made by New-Haven on the Delaware, injuring 
them to the value of £1000. Mr. Lambertson, 
one of the principal men of New-Haven, who was 
trading in Delaware, was falsely accused by the 
Dutch and Swedish agent, and arbitrarily fined ; 
and he was afterward ill-treated by Governor 
Kieft at Manahadoes (New-York). Indeed, the 
Dutch for several years injured the colonists in 
different ways, and gave them no satisfaction, 
though they repeatedly remonstrated. 

In the course of the same year, Connecticut 
formed ten capital laws, which were recorded, 
with passages of Scripture on which they were 
founded. The crimes which were to be punished 
with death were : the worship of any but the true 
God (Deut. xiii., 6, and xvii., 21 ; Ex. xxii., 2) ; 
blasphemy (Lev. xxiv., 15, 16) ; to be a witch, 
which was defined as one that " hath or consulteth 
with a familiar spirit" (Ex. xxii., 18 ; Lev. xx., 
22; Deut. xviii., 10, 11); murder with malice 
(Ex. xxi., 12-14; Numb, xxxv., 30, 31); slay, 
ing through guile, as "by poison or other such 
devilish practices" (Ex. xxi., 14) (unnatural and 
incestuous crimes, &c.,were among the number); 
man-stealing (Ex. xxi., 16) ; false witness to take 
away life (Deut. xix., 16, 18, 19) ; conspiracy, 
rebellion, and invasion. Afterward the follow, 
ing crimes were made capital : arson, cursing or 
smiting a parent, and notorious stubbornnesl in 
children after a specified age. Persons deserting 



1643.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 93 

the settlements, and living in a heathenish manner 
among the Indians, were to suffer three years im- 
prisonment, or corporal punishment. 

An invitation was received by Mr. Hooker of 
Hartford, in 1642, to attend the Assembly of Di- 
vines at Westminster, to settle the church govern. 
ment. Mr. Davenport of New-Haven and Mr. 
Cotton of Boston were likewise invited : but they 
all declined the invitation. ' ' 

A General Court met at New-Haven for that 
colony on the 5th of April, 1643. Several deputies 
from other towns were present : Captain John Un- 
derbill and Mr. Richard Gildersleve, deputies from 
Stamford. Messrs. Mitchel, Rayner, Underhill, 
Ward, and Coe were appointed judges of the court 
in Stamford, which had the same powers as that 
of New-Haven. Guilford (or Menunkatuck) was 
first represented by Mr. William Leet and Mr. Des- 
borough. 

A law was passed, which indicates that the peo- 
ple were less acquainted with public affairs than 
was necessary. It required jurors to attend dili- 
gently to their cases ; and, if they should not agree, 
to offer their reasons, which the court were to an- 
swer, and send them out again. After this a ma- 
jority might give a verdict. In case of an equal 
division, the court or magistrates might determine. 
The first notice of a grand jury is found this year, 
when it was ordained that one should attend each 

court. , 

In 1643 a most important measure was adopted, 
viz., a confederation of all the New-England Col- 
onies excepting Rhode Island. It was natural for 
the people and their rulers to desire such a union, 



94 THE CONFEDERATION. [1643. 

as they had all felt the advantage of co- operation, 
and had common enemies and dangers against 
which they ought to guard, as they had then no 
aid to hope for from England. A confederation 
had been contemplated for several years ; and ar- 
ticles of union had been drawn up and proposed in 
1638, and deferred a year for consideration. Ever 
since 1639, Connecticut had annually sent a com- 
mittee to Massachusetts to promote the plan ; and 
New-Haven also had it much at heart. With Mr, 
Fenwick, the governor of the fort and colony of 
Saybrook, Connecticut had already a connexion 
of this nature. 

In 1643 the colonies of Plymouth, Connecticut, 
and New-Haven sent commissioners to Boston, 
where they held a meeting with others appointed 
by the General Court of Massachusetts ; and on 
the 19th of May they signed articles of confedera- 
tion, which greatly contributed to the strength, pro- 
tection, and prosperity of the country, until it was 
terminated by the abitrary interference of the Eng- 
lish kings. The distinguished men to whom this 
important measure was committed were Governor 
Haynes and Mr. Hopkins of Connecticut, Mr. Fen- 
wick of Saybrook, Governor Eaton and Mr. Greg* 
son of New-Haven, Mr. Winslow and Mr. Collier 
of Plymouth, and from Massachusetts, Governor 
Winthrop, Mr. Dudley, and Mr. Bradstreet, magis- 
trates, and Mr, Hawthorne, Mr. Gibbons, and Mr. 
Tyng, deputies. 

The preamble of the articles of confederation 
states, in the true and distinguishing spirit of the 
people of the colonies, that, as " they all came into 
these parts of America with one and the same end 



1643.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 95 

and aim, to advance the kingdom of our Lord Je- 
S us Christ, and to enjoy the liberties of the gospel 
in purity and peace, they conceived it their bound- 
en duty to enter into a present confederation among 
themselves, for mutual help and strength in all fu- 
ture concernments, that, as in nation and religion 
so in other respects they be and continue one, and 
hencetth be called by the name of Tm .United 
Colonies of New-England." They therefore 
did, jointly and severally, for themselves and their 
posterity, enter into a firm and perpetual league of 
friendship and amity, of offence and defence, mu- 
tual aid and succour, upon all just occasions bo h 
for preserving and propagating the truth and lib- 
erty of the gospel, and for their % own mutual safety 

and welfare. . . . ,. . 

The colonies were to have distinct jurisdictions, 
and to send two commissioners, church members, 
to meet annually on September 1st at Boston Hart- 
ford, New-Haven, and Plymouth in turn, but twice 
successively at Boston. They were to have power 
to make war, peace, laws and rules relating to the 
Indians, -eneral defence, and the encouragement 
and support of religion ; and war expenses were to 
be paid in proportion to the number of males be- 
twe P en sixteen and sixty years of age. On news 
of an invasion, Massachusetts was to send one 
hundred men, and the other colonies forty-five 
each The commissioners might send more. A 
vote of six of them was to bind all. Toe vote o 
a majority less than six must be confirmed by all 
the general courts to be binding. Questions of the 
violation of the articles by either colony were to 



96 TREACHERY OF MIANTONIMOH. [1643. 

be detei mined by the commissioners of the others. 
Fugitives were to be restored. 

This union strengthened the colonies in fact, and 
in their own view as well as their neighbours', 
some of whom were benefited by its aid. It prob- 
ably was the means of their preservation in the 
succeeding dangers and wars ; and it formed, to 
a great degree, the model, while it gave the idea 
of subsequent confederations, and finally of the 
union of our states. The principle and objects 
were the same, and our New-England ancestors 
had the intelligence, virtue, and perseverance to 
devise and try the plan, which nothing but experi- 
ment could properly test and recommend to the 
confidence of their successors. 

This combination of power was formed just in 
season to prevent the evils of an Indian war. Mi- 
antouimoh, chief sachem of the Narragansets, had 
been relieved from his greatest rivals by the de- 
struction of the Pequods ; and now Uncas was the 
only one who remained. He perfidiously broke 
his treaty with him and the colonies, by inciting 
the Indians to an insurrection, and by several at- 
tempts on the life of Uncas, whose faithfulness had 
acquired the confidence of the whites in a degree 
which may have excited his jealousy. It was found 
that many Indians were collecting arms and ammu- 
nition ; and the towns instituted the strictest watch 
at night, to prevent surprise. 

Connecticut urged that one hundred men migru 
be sent forthwith to Saybrook, to act when required : 
but Massachusetts doubted the necessity of such u 
measure. Miantonimoh, however, showed his fee .. 
ings by hiring one of Uncas's men, who was a Pe 



1643.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 97 

quod, to kill him. He w ounded him in the arm in 
the spring of this year, and fled, spreading the re- 
port, on his way to Narraganset, that Uncas was 
dead, Miantonimoh pretended that Uncas had cut 
his own arm with a flint, to impose on the English ; 
and when he visited Boston with the assassin, in- 
stead of removing suspicions, he only confirmed 
them, and was able to save the Pequod from being 
sent to Uncas only by fair promises. On their way 
home, however, he killed him, probably to prevent 
him from testifying. 

One day, as Uncas was going down Connecticut 
River, several arrows were shot at him by the sa- 
chem Sequassen or his men, who had killed one of 
Uncas's principal Indians. Uncas having com- 
plained, Governor Haynes tried in vain to accom- 
modate the difficulty. Sequassen insisted on fight- 
ing, and was overcome and killed by the Mohegan 
chief. 

Miantonimoh was now suddenly reported to be 
on his march against Uncas, with 900 or 1000 
men. He intended to take him by surprise, and 
crush him at a blow. But Uncas had spies suffi- 
ciently watchful and trustworthy to give him timely 
information ; and, although he was not prepared 
for war, trusting, doubtless, to Miantonimoh's re- 
gard for his treaty with him and the colonies, he 
promptly marched to meet him, with such warri- 
ors as he could collect, without loss of time : a 
force of between 400 and 500 men. With his char- 
acteristic coolness and sagacity, after acquainting 
his men with his designs, and having proposed a 
parley, he advanced alone towards the enemy, and 
thus addressed Miantonimoh : " You have a num- 
I 



98 CAPTURE OF MIANTONIMOH. [1643. 

ber of stout men with you, and so have I. It is a 
pity that such brave warriors should be killed in a 
private quarrel between us only. Come, like a 
man, as you profess to be, and let us fight it out. 
If you kill me, my men shall be yours ; but if I kill 
you, your men shall be mine." 

This challenge, though fairly made, and which 
Uncas, no doubt, was ready to adhere to, he did 
not expect Miantonimoh would accept. He prob- 
ably knew him to be at heart less valiant than him- 
self. Miantonimoh replied, " My men came to 
fight, and they shall fight." Uncas, on receiving 
the expected answer, threw himself on the ground ; 
and his men, pouring in a cloud of arrows, rushed 
on with their horrible yells, and put their enemies 
to instant flight. Those who are acquainted with 
the region where this fight took place, may ima- 
gine the difficulties it presented to a flying army 
ignorant of its surface. It is that irregular piece 
of ground in the eastern part of Norwich, just be- 
yond " Sachem's Plain," broken with many rocks 
and ledges ; and at that time, numerous trees, stand- 
ing and fallen, must have added to the other im- 
pediments. The Narragansets were driven down 
precipices, and about thirty of them killed and many 
wounded. Miantonimoh was soon overtaken by 
the foremost of the Mohegans : but they thought 
their chief sachem would prefer to make him his 
captive, and neither killed nor seized him, only 
checking his course with their hands as they pass- 
ed him, one after another, until Uncas came up. 

When Miantonimoh saw that he was in the 
power of the more noble man whom he had in- 
jured, he offered neither to resist nor to escape, 



1643.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 99 

but sullenly sat down, and would not answer a 
word. Uncas gave a whoop, which the Mohe- 
gans understood ; and, leaving the pursuit, they as- 
sembled around him. Among the wounded were 
two sons of Canonicus, the second Narraganset 
sachem, and Miantonimoh's brother. He was 
brought a prisoner to Uncas by two of the con- 
quered chiefs, who had found him disabled by his 
wound and a suit of mail which he wore. Being 
Mohegans who had deserted to Miantonimoh, they 
hoped they would be forgiven for bringing in such 
a prisoner : but Uncas and his men put them to 
death. Miantonimoh would not make any request 
nor utter a single word, though Uncas said to him, 
" If you had taken me, I should have besought you 
for my life." He was then led to Mohegan in tri- 
umph. 

Uncas soon received a message from Samuel 
Gorton and his company, who had settled on lands 
under the jurisdiction of Plymouth and Massachu- 
setts, threatening him if he should not release his 
prisoner. Those men wished Miantonimoh to be 
at liberty, because they claimed the lands on a deed 
from him. Uncas therefore took Miantonimoh to 
Hartford, where he begged earnestly to be kept 
under the protection of the English. Uncas left 
him with them under guard, but insisted that he 
should be regarded as his prisoner. The govern- 
or and magistrates thought it not proper to inter- 
fere, as the quarrel was a private one, but advised 
that the matter should be referred to the commis- 
sioners, who decided in September that he de- 
served death, and gave him to Uncas to be exe- 
cuted out of their territory, advising that no cruelty 



L '/ Ui 



100 LAWS OF NEW-HAVEN. [1643. 

should be permitted. Governor Winthrop, presi- 
dent of the commissioners, says it was clearly 
proved that Miantonimoh had formed an extensive 
conspiracy for the extermination of the colonists. 

Uncas and a party of his warriors took Mianto- 
nimoh back to the ground on which he had been 
captured, and, without giving him any warning, 
one of them killed him with a blow of a hatchet, 
which split his scull. Uncas then showed more 
of a savage disposition than in any other case on 
record. He cut a large piece of flesh from the 
shoulder of the corpse and ate it, declaring that it 
was the sweetest meat he had ever eaten ; it made 
his heart strong. He then gave orders for the in- 
terment of the body on the spot, which was done, 
and a heap of stones was placed upon it. This 
was performed in the presence of two Englishmen, 
who had been sent as witnesses, and to prevent 
any cruelty. Soldiers were then stationed at Mo- 
hegan to protect Uncas from the Narragansets, 
and messengers were sent by the commissioners 
to Canonicus, saying that they, had ascertained the 
treachery of the Narragansets, but strongly desired 
peace, and offered it to them in the name of the 
United Colonies, with assurances of protection. 

The General Court of New-Haven this year de- 
creed, " That none should be admitted free bur- 
gesses in any of the plantations but such as were 
members of some approved church in New-Eng- 
land ; that such only should have any vote in elec- 
tions ; and that no power for ordering any civil af- 
fairs should be put into the hands of any but such." 
Free burgesses might vote for governor, magis- 
trates, secretary, and treasurer. The towns, in 



1643.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 101 

ordinary cases, were to choose their own judges, 
which were to have jurisdiction in civil cases not 
exceeding twenty shillings, and in criminal cases 
not exceeding the punishment of the stocks, whip- 
ping, or fining five pounds. 

A Court of Magistrates was also appointed for 
the colony of New-Haven, consisting of all the ma- 
gistrates, to meet twice a year, on the Mondays 
preceding the General Courts in April and Octo- 
ber, to determine, by a majority of votes, appeals 
and important causes. Non-attendance was to be 
punished by a fine ; four magistrates would form 
a quorum, but juries were not provided for. The 
General Court was also established at this time, 
and was to meet at New-Haven on the first Wed- 
nesday of April and the last of October, consisting 
of the deputy-governor, magistrates, and two dep- 
uties from each town. At the latter session, an- 
nually, a governor, deputy-governor, magistrates, 
secretary, treasurer, and marshal or high sheriff 
were to be chosen. This court was invested with 
the supreme power of the commonwealth 
12 



102 DUTCH AND INDIAN WAR. [1643. 



CHAPTER XII. 

Letter of Congratulation and Complaint from the Dutch Gov- 
ernor.— The Indian and Dutch War injurious to Connecticut 
and JSew-Haven. — Uncas pressed by the Narragansets. — Aid 
sent to him.— The Narragansets meet the Commissioners at 
Hartford. — Annual Contributions commenced in the Colony 
for the Support of indigent Students in Cambridge College. 
— Southampton taken under Jurisdiction. — Kenewed Appre- 
hensions of an Indian War.— Difficulty with Governor Kieft 
of IS' ew- York. 

Some weeks before this, the Governor of Mana- 
hadoes wrote to Governor Winthrop, expressing 
great pleasure at the union of the English colo- 
nies, but complaining of Connecticut and New- 
Haven for insufferable injuries, and for having 
sent misinformation against the Dutch to their 
agent in Europe. An amicable letter was sent 
in reply ; and the commissioners soon afterward, 
having considered the subject, directed their presi- 
dent to write, demanding satisfaction for injuries 
done to Connecticut and New-Haven, and decla- 
ring that, while they would wrong no one, they 
would never desert their confederates in so just a 
cause. Both parties had now expressed a desire 
for that state of friendship and harmony which 
would have been so becoming the colonies of two 
Protestant nations ; and the situation of one of 
them soon compelled it earnestly to ask help of 
the other. 

A drunken Indian, some time previously, had 



1643.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 103 

killed a Dutchman, and this would probably have 
caused a war but for the prudence of the gov- 
ernor. Some of the people, it was said, induced 
the Mohawks to massacre about thirty Indians 
living near the Dutch, which drove the survivors 
to them for protection. Captain Marine, with 
the governor's permission, then suddenly attack- 
ed them, and destroyed seventy or eighty men, 
women, and children. This brought on a war ; 
and in the spring of this year many Dutch houses 
and barns were burned, some of the latter after 
the cattle had been driven into them ; and about 
twenty persons were killed. The Indians on Long 
Island having committed similar acts, the govern- 
or invited Captain Underhill to come to his assist- 
ance from Stamford. This so exasperated Captain 
Marine that he attempted to shoot the governor ; 
who, as other symptons of irritation appeared, kept 
a guard of fifty Englishmen in constant attend- 
ance on his person. In the summer and autumn 
the Indians killed fifteen of the Dutch ; and all 
the English and Dutch settlers west of Stamford 
deserted their houses for fear. Among others, 
the celebrated Mrs. Hutchinson, of Massachusetts, 
and her family, were murdered by some Indians, 
who came with professions of peace and friend- 
ship. Eighteen persons fell in the same treach- 
erous massacre, including her son-in-law, Mr. Col- 
lins, and his family. After breaking up the Dutch 
settlements in that region, the Indians crossed to 
Long Island and proceeded in like manner, dri- 
ving all the people away except the few who were 
in the fort. 

In the midst of these dangers and sufferings, the 



104 CIVIL WAR IN ENGLAND. [1644. 

Dutch requested of the New-Haven Court 100 
soldiers : but this was declined, partly on the 
ground that their cause might not be just, and 
partly because each colony was bound to abstain 
from war. They, however, offered to assist them 
with provisions in case of need. This war be- 
tween the Dutch and Indians lasted several years. 
Captain Underhill had the chief command, and 
was very active and successful at the head of a 
company of Dutch and English, from 120 to 150 
in number, with whom he destroyed between 400 
and 500 Indians. 

This state of things, added to the enmity of the 
Narragansets, kept up a constant alarm, so that 
in Connecticut, every man able to bear arms was 
required, while attending church, to be prepared for 
resistance. In Hartford the bell was rung every 
morning an hour before day. Even such a state 
of danger, however, did not forbid the proper at- 
tention to the education of the youth, as it is men- 
tioned on the records of Hartford that Mr. An- 
drews, the teacher of the town school, was paid 
£16 as his salary. 

The year 1644 thus opened with melancholy 
prospects ; and, as England was involved in a civil 
war, the results of which must prove highly impor- 
tant on this side of the Atlantic, a general monthly 
fast was proclaimed, to begin on the 4th of January. 
As the struggle in England was considered as be- 
ing based on questions of civil and religious freedom, 
our ancestors sympathized warmly with the oppo- 
nents of the king, and conformed with them in the 
observance of fasts and prayers on the same days 
through the war. 



1644.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 105 

Few, if any, cases have existed in history in 
which officers have been as long and constantly re- 
elected as the chief magistrates of Connecticut and 
New-Haven. Mr. Hayne and Mr. Hopkins were 
elected governor and deputy-governor alternately 
as long as they lived : the constitution forbidding 
any greater regularity. Mr. Eaton was governor 
till the end of his life, and Mr. Stephen Goodyer r 
generally held the office of lieutenant-governor. 

A man from Massachusetts was murdered by 
the Indians in the spring between Fairfield and 
Stamford ; and when the murderer had been brought 
bound, to be delivered to men sent to take him, his 
guards released him, and he escaped. The Eng- 
lish then made prisoners of eight or ten Indians, 
which caused a rising among the savages in that 
quarter on the 1st of May ; and, relying on the 
promises of four sachems, they released them. 
About a month afterward, an Indian named Bus- 
heag wounded a woman in Stamford with a ham- 
mer, in an attempt to kill her, so that she never 
afterward had her reason. The Indians then as- 
sumed a most threatening attitude, and so alarmed 
the distant and weaker plantations in the west, that 
it was thought dangerous to travel by land, and 
they asked and received help from the chief towns. 
The Indian offender was at length given up, tried 
at New-Haven, and beheaded. The executioner 
must have been inexpert, as, in attempting to cut 
off his head with a falchion or broadsword, he gave 
not less than eight blows before he could succeed. 
The Indian, with characteristic hardihood, sat up- 
right till the last. 

The expenses which Connecticut and New- 



106 THE NARRAGANSETS PACIFIED. [1644. 

Haven incurred during this war they alone had to 
pay, because the commissioners had not ordered 
their defensive measures. 

Branford (then called Totoket) was settled this 
year by some people from Wethersfield (where 
dissensions still continued), with part of the con- 
gregation of Mr. Pierson of Southampton, Long 
Island, who was chosen pastor of the new town. 

The Narraganset Indians were still as hostile 
as ever against the Mohegans, and the Indians 
who were under the protection of Massachusetts. 
That colony, therefore, sent men to aid Uncas in 
fortifying for his defence. Messages were de- 
spatched by the commissioners to say they were 
sitting at Hartford, and ready to listen to any com- 
plaints from them, and to give an impartial judg- 
ment. The interpreters sent to the Narragansets 
were charged to set down in writing, and then to 
submit to them for correction, the answers return- 
ed by the Indians to the questions : Are your de- 
signs for war? Will you perform the treaty or 
not? Promises were also made that, whoever 
should be sent by the Narragansets, they should be 
safely restored to their homes. A sachem there- 
fore attended, with several chiefs, and endeavour- 
ed to prove that Uncas (who also was present) had 
received a ransom in part for the life of Miantoni- 
moh, and refused to return it after his death. The 
commissioners found this to be a false accusation : 
yet they told the Narragansets that, if they ever 
should be able to prove it, Uncas should make res- 
titution. The Narragansets then agreed that nei- 
ther they nor the Nehantics should make war on Un- 



1644.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 107 

cas before the next year's planting season, nor then 
without giving thirty days' notice to the English. 

The Indians then returned ; and thus the com- 
missioners, by their moderation, prudence, and 
humanity, appear to have prevented a threatening 
Indian war. Before this time intelligence had been 
received of a dreadful massacre of 200 persons in 
Virginia, which led to the belief that a general plot 
had been laid for the destruction of all the colonies. 

The aspect of affairs was rendered still more 
peaceful by the appearance of a number of In- 
dians from Monhauset, on Long Island, and its 
vicinity. Four sachems came with their chief 
men to request the commissioners to take them 
under their protection, saying that they had been 
tributary to the English ever since the Pequod 
war. This was agreed to, and a certificate was 
given them, declaring their good standing and 
connexion with the colonies. 

Both Massachusetts and Mr. Fenwick laid claim 
to Westfield ; and it was resolved that it should be 
under the jurisdiction of the former until ultimately 
disposed of: the property of the land, however, was 
to belong to the proprietors if it should exceed 2000 
acres. 

On an application from Mr. Shepard for aid to 
support indigent students at Cambridge College, 
the commissioners recommended the subject to the 
general courts ; and from that time contributions 
of grain and provisions were furnished every year 
from the colonies. A plan was considered for a 
joint-stock company to trade with the Indians : 
but, in consequence of the opposition of Massa- 
chusetts, it was never adopted. To prevent the 



109 SAYBROOK FORT TRANSFERRED. [1644. 

Indians from being supplied with firearms, so dan- 
gerous in their hands, all persons were forbidden 
to sell arms and ammunition to an Indian, on pen- 
alty of twenty times the value ; and smiths were 
prohibited from mending guns for Indians. At the 
same time it was recommended to the courts to 
forbid the sale of arms and ammunition to the 
Dutch and French, because they disposed of them 
to the savages. 

Southampton, on Long Island, was taken under 
the jurisdiction of Connecticut, on the recommen- 
dation of the commissioners. It was settled by 
people from Lynn, Massachusetts, in 1630, who 
had obtained a tract of land in 1639, on the west- 
ern end of that island, from Lord Stirling, with the 
consent of the Indians. The interference of the 
Dutch, however, compelled them to remove farther 
eastward ; and, with nearly 100 families, they built 
Southampton, with the Rev. Mr. Pierson for their 
pastor. They established their own civil govern- 
ment, at the advice of Massachusetts. On the ad- 
mission of the town into the jurisdiction of Con- 
necticut this year, Mr. Pierson and some of his 
people removed to Branford, as the change was not 
agreeable to them. 

Mr. Fenwick being willing to place Saybrook 
fort under the jurisdiction of Connecticut, the gov- 
ernor, deputy-governor, and several other persons 
were appointed a committee to confer with him : 
the agreement was made on the 5th of December, 
1644, Mr. Fenwick being secured for ten years in 
the use of all the " housings" (buildings) in the 
fort, and a certain duty on the corn, biscuit, bea- 
ver, and cattle exported from the mouth of the river. 



1645.] HISTORY OF GOKNECT1GUT. 109 

This was confirmed by the commissioners on the 
4th of February, 1645, who laid a duty of two- 
pence a bushel on grain, sixpence a hundred- 
weight o« biscuit, and a small sum on the beaver 
to be exported from the mouth of the Connecticut 
for ten years. The entire value of what was thus 
paid to Mr. Fenwick for the old Connecticut pat- 
ent was 1600 pounds sterling. The court ordered, 
on July 19th, that the fortifications should be in- 
creased ; and a tax of 200 pounds was laid on the 
plantations to pay the expense. The court also 
wrote to Mr. Fenwick, requesting him to go to 
England to get the patent enlarged, and in other 
ways to promote the interests of the colony. 

The restless Narragansets soon began again to 
invade the territory of Uncas ; and, in repeated at- 
tacks on his fort,* led by their sachem Pessacus, 
they killed and captured numbers, and so annoyed 
the Mohegans that an extraordinary meeting of 
the commissioners assembled on the 28th of June, 
who sent messengers to Narraganset and Mohegan, 
with the usual proposals to hear their complaints, 
determine righteously, and give safe conduct. The 
Narraganset sachems at first listened favourably, 
but did not accede ; and some of them insulted and 
threatened the messengers, while one told them the 
war should be continued at all events, and that the 
English should be shot at their own doors, and their 
cattle killed and piled in heaps. Mr. Williams 
wrote to the commissioners from Providence, that 
the Narragansets were preparing for war against 

* Some remains of this fort may still be seen near the little 
church on the highest hill in the Mohegan reservation, on the 
west side »f the road between Norwich and New-London. 

K 



110 WAR WITH THE NARRAGANSETS. [1645. 

the colonies, and had already formed a treaty of 
neutrality with that town and thoae on Aquidney 
Island. The commissioners therefore, agreed that 
war was both justifiable and necessary : but chose, 
before declaring it, to take the advice of the magis- 
trates and elders, and some of the military officers 
of Massachusetts. Their opinion was unanimous 
in favour of war. It was therefore determined that 
the treaty required them to interfere promptly for 
the defence of Uncas, or he would be destroyed ; 
and that the fair import of their obligations would 
justify not merely the defence of Uncas in Mohe- 
gan, but the invasion of Narraganset. 

The 4th of September was therefore observed 
as a day of fasting and prayer. Three hundred 
men were ordered to be raised : one hundred and 
ninety in Massachusetts, forty in Connecticut, forty 
in Plymouth, and thirty in New-Haven. Forty 
men were immediately raised in Massachusetts by 
impressment, and in three days marched for Mo- 
hegan, to take the places of the Connecticut and 
New-Haven troops who had kept garrison for Un- 
cas. Major Edward Gibbons was appointed to 
take the chief command when the army should be 
collected, and Captain Mason in the interim. Ma- 
jor Gibbons was instructed to defend Uncas, and 
invade and distress the Narragansets, Nehantics, 
and their confederates ; to offer peace, and make a 
treaty if possible : but if they should only flee, to 
build forts in their country, and store in them their 
corn, &c. The Narragansets had before this sent 
a present to Governor Winthrop, with a request 
to have peace with the English, but to be permitted 
to revenge on Uncas the death of Miantommoh. 



1645.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. Ill 

The present was declined, but retained tempora- 
rily at the messenger's request ; and Captain Har- 
ding, Mr. Wilbore, and Benedict Arnold were sent 
to tell them they must first give satisfaction for the 
past and security for the future, and that they would 
then find the English tender of their blood. Sev- 
eral of their sachems visited Boston ; and, after 
making some false excuses, being pressed to come 
to a lasting arrangement, one of them presented a 
stick to the commissioners, saying they submitted 
to them the decision of peace and war, and asked 
what they desired. The reply was, that, for the 
great expense and trouble which their faithlessness 
had caused the English, they would be content with 
the small sum of 2000 fathoms of wampum : but 
that the canoes and captives taken from Uncas 
must be restored, their complaints against him 
should be submitted to the commissioners at the 
next meeting, peace should be kept by them, and 
hostages given. The Narragansets and Nehan- 
tics were reluctant : but, after the times of payment 
had been extended, and it had been added that Un- 
cas should restore his captives and canoes, on the 
30th of August they signed the treaty, because 
they knew the army had entered their territory, 
and that nothing else would save it. Several of 
the Indians remained, to await the arrival of the 
children who were designated for permanent hos- 
tages ; the English troops were recalled ; and the 
day appointed as a fast was converted into a thanks- 
giving-day, in gratitude to the Great Preserver, to 
whom the colonies so habitually and devoutly look* 
ed as the bestower of every benefit. The preser- 
vation of peace at this time was an inestimable 
blessing. 



112 SEQUASSEN S PLOT. [1645. 

But difficulties again arose with the Dutch. The 
garrison of the fort at Hartford set at defiance the 
laws of the colony, and resisted the officers ; and 
Governor Kieft wrote an imperious letter to Gov- 
ernor Eaton, charging the English with encroach- 
ments, and threatening war. The commissioners 
soon addressed him a letter, complaining of his 
conduct, approving Governor Eaton's answer, in 
which an offer was made to refer to arbitration in 
Europe or America, and asserting that they had 
committed nothing inconsistent with the law of 
God, the law of nations, or the treaties subsisting 
between England and Holland. Kieft returned a 
gasconading answer, threatening war : but the com- 
missioners replied with moderation and dignity. 



CHAPTER XIII. 

Difficulties with Indians.— Injury done to them by supplying 
them with Ardent Spirits.— Instances of their Perfidy— Ca- 
lamities suffered by New-Haven.— Law against the Use of 
Tobacco in Connecticut — Ninigrate's artful Conduct. — Mr. 
Winthrop's Claim. — Saybrook Fort burned. — Settlement of 
New-London.— Indian War threatened.— An Alliance with 
Canada proposed. 

This year was near being marked by the assas- 
sination of Governor Hopkins, Governor Haynes, 
and Mr. Whiting, one of the magistrates of Con. 
necticut. A petty sachem, living on the river's 
banks, named Sequassen, whom we have before 
mentioned, appears to have cherished a violent ha- 



1646.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 113 

tred against those gentlemen, on account of the 
protection they had afforded Uncas ; and he hired 
Watchibrough, a Waronoke (or Windsor) Indian, 
to kill them, intending to charge Uncas with the 
crime, and then to escape with him to the Mohawks. 
But the Windsor Indian remembered the execution 
of Busheag at New-Haven, and thought the crime 
would be punished, or, at least, keep him in fear all 
his life. He preferred, therefore, to take such a 
reward as the informers against Busheag had ob- 
tained. After he had received several wampum 
belts, he therefore went to Hartford and made 
known this plot. But Sequassen was never taken. 

The Indians of Windsor were in a very hostile 
state at this time. They burned a quantity of tar 
and turpentine, rescued by force one whom the of- 
ficers had seized, and threatened messengers after- 
ward sent to them : but the commissioners of the 
United Colonies thought it best only to warn them 
against future misconduct of the kind. 

These acts of hostility may serve as specimens 
of some of the various modes in which the colonies 
were long harassed. On their part, the Indians 
suffered some severe evils from the neighbourhood 
of the whites, especially through the introduction 
of spirituous liquors, which were then generally 
believed by civilized nations to be among the ne- 
cessaries of life, or, at least, highly useful to the 
health in many cases. They ought to have learn- 
ed an opposite lesson from observing the experi- 
ence of the Indians. They were entirely ignorant 
of all drink except water, and suffered no evil from 
that which was good ; but, from the moment when 
they began to drink the "strong waters" whicb 
K2 



114 CRUELTY OF THE INDIANS. [1646. 

the Europeans introduced among them, their ruin 
may be said to have been sealed. In this they 
firred, and fatally for the Indians and thousands 
of their own descendants, who after them were 
hastened to the grave by intemperance. At the 
same time it may be said, that, by not taking 
measures to prevent the use of ardent spirits, they 
left their civil, religious, and literary institutions in 
extreme danger of overthrow : for intemperance 
is a deadly enemy of the present as well as of the 
future welfare of mankind. 

Several years after Milford was first settled, the 
English discovered a party of Mohawks concealed 
in a swamp about half a mile east from Stratford 
Ferry, which is still called the Mohawk Swamp. 
They gave notice to the friendly Indians in their 
fort, knowing that the enemy's design was to cap- 
ture it. The friendly Indians were bold enough 
to rout them and take several prisoners. One of 
these they exposed to a slow and most distressing 
death, without the knowledge of the English, as it 
would seem. They left him in the salt meadows, 
stripped and bound, to be bitten by the moschetoes, 
and to die without food and water. He was hap- 
pily found in that condition by a Mr. Hine, who 
released him, and, having given him food, enabled 
him to escape. The Mohawks were much concil- 
iated towards the English by this act of humanity, 
and, it is said, afterward treated the family of the 
Hines with particular marks of friendship. 

Much has been said of Indian gratitude ; and 
there have been many striking and affecting in- 
stances of it recorded in our early as well as our 
later histories. But, like other races of men, the 



1646.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 115 

Indians are capable of ingratitude and perfidy. Of 
this the commissioners had melancholy proofs this 
year, as the Narragansets and Nehantics had not 
performed any of the stipulations of the treaty ; and, 
while pretending to give as hostages children of 
chiefs, they had brought only those of the lowest 
rank. Besides, they had endeavoured to engage 
the Mohawks against the colonies by presents and 
otherwise. To all this the commissioners answer- 
ed only by remonstrances. 

The Dutch and Indians had a bloody battle this 
year, on Strickland's Plain, in the present town of 
Horseneck, after which the former with difficulty 
kept the field. 

Some of the most wealthy inhabitants of New- 
Haven this year began to make arrangements for 
a voyage to England, expecting, by establishing 
commerce with their native land, to retrieve the 
pecuniary losses which they had suffered since they 
had embarked their estates in the settlement of the 
colony. They contributed money, built a ship of 
150 tons, freighted her, and embarked : but were 
never heard from again. Among those who were 
thus lost were«Mr. Gregson, Captain Turner, Mr. 
Lamberton, and five or six leading men of the col- 
ony. This loss so far affected the survivors, that 
the principal men determined to abandon the coun- 
try, and to remove either to Jamaica or to Ireland, 
having invitations to go to both. They proposed 
to settle Galloway as a colony of their own. Prov- 
idence, however, so directed events that they re- 
mained at home, contrary to their wishes, and, 
although they believed the land of the colony un- 
favourable to agriculture, their posterity became 
flourishing farmers. 



116 CONDUCT OF NINIGRATE. [1646. 

Tobacco appears to be regarded by many per- 
sons, and even by some nations at the present day, 
as one of the necessaries of life ; and, although it 
is noxious in every form and in almost every case 
in which it is used, it forms one of the great arti- 
cles of commerce between several countries. Yet, 
up to the period to which we have arrived, it had 
been almost unknown ; and most judicious men 
would probably now say that it were well if it had 
continued so. The law which was passed by the 
Connecticut Assembly this year, to prevent the use 
of tobacco from becoming fashionable, was more 
ridiculed some years ago than it now is, since the 
injurious influences of that poisonous plant on the 
health and the mind have become more generally 
understood. The law forbade any person under 
twenty years of age, and any one not already ac- 
customed to it, to take tobacco, without having a 
certificate from a physician recommending it, and 
a license from the court ; and any one already ad- 
dicted to it was forbidden to use it, unless removed 
ten miles from any company, and then more than 
once a day, under a penalty of sixpence for each 
offence. 

This year power was first given to the soldiers 
of train-bands to choose their own officers, who 
were to be commissioned by the court. Say brook 
Fort was transferred to Captain Mason by Mr. 
Fenwick ; and he was appointed to the command 
of it, and to govern the inhabitants of the town. 
The county-rate of Saybrook was also appropria- 
ted to the repairing of the fortifications. 

An extraordinary meeting of the commissioners 
was held on the 26th of July, to consider the con- 



1647.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 117 

duct of the Narragansets and Nehantics ; and an 
urgent request was sent to the sachems that they 
would appear, with a declaration that it would be 
the last call if neglected. Ninigrate presented 
himself on the 3d of August, and at first pretended 
great ignorance of their charges and demands: but, 
when assured that his former deceit and his former 
threats were known, he promised, in the name of 
his companions, to give full satisfaction, and sent 
for the wampum while he remained as a hostage. 
As only 100 fathoms were returned instead of 
2000, and he pretended that this was owing to his 
absence, the commissioners released him, saying 
that if 1000 should not be paid within 20 days, and 
the rest before planting time, they would blame him 
instead of Pessacus, whom he charged with the 
delay. 

The General Court of Massachusetts objected to 
the requisition made on Springfield to pay their 
part of the money for the purchase of Saybrook 
Fort. Mr. Hopkins replied for Connecticut with 
substantial reasons, proposing to submit the sub- 
ject to the commissioners ; and they decided that 
Springfield should pay twopence on every bushel 
of corn going up and down the river, and a 
penny a pound on beaver-skins, or twenty shill- 
ings a hogshead : but, out of respect and tender- 
ness to Massachusetts, it was added that she would 
be at liberty to show farther reasons. The next 
year the decision was confirmed. 

The Western Nehantic country was claimed at 
this session of the commissioners by Mr. John 
Winthrop,son of Governor Winthrop. He brought 
Mr. Stanton and several Nehantic Indians to prove 



v 



118 SETTLEMENT OF NEW-LONDON. [1648. 

that the sachem Sashions had given him a verbal 
deed of it before the Pequod war: but the com- 
missioners from Connecticut questioned its validity, 
and it appears never to have been revived. 

The accounts of the commissioners were settled 
this year : they had expended £1043 10s. Con- 
necticut had exceeded her due proportion in ex- 
penses for general defence by £155 17s. 7d., and 
New-Haven £7. The expense of defending Stam- 
ford and its vicinity, and that of bringing the mur- 
derers to punishment, was not included. 

A new Dutch governor (Peter Stuyvesandt) ar- 
rived at Manahadoes on the 27th of May ; and a 
letter of congratulation was addressed to him by 
the commissioners, in which they complained of the 
Dutch for supplying the Indians with arms and am- 
munition, and the high duties laid on goods, while 
the ports of the English colonies were. free. 

Saybrook Fort and its buildings were burned by 
accident in the winter, and Captain Mason, his wife, 
and child narrowly escaped. The loss was esti- 
mated at above £1000. 

The settlement of New-London (Nameaug or 
Towawog) was commenced in 1646 : but the 
number of persons was small, and some of them 
soon became discouraged and left the place. In 
1647, however, a considerable number of perma- 
nent settlers came, in consequence of the arrival 
of Mr. Richard Blinman from Gloucester, who had 
been a minister in England. Some of the princi- 
pal men were John Winthrop, Esq., Thomas Mi- 
not, Samuel Lothrop, Robert Allyn, and James 
Avery. Mr. Winthrop was authorized to super- 
intend the colony, which was exempted from taxa- 



1648.] HISTORY OP CONNECTICUT. 119 

tion for three years ; and the next year he and 
Messrs. Minot and Lothrop were appointed judges 
of a court for small causes. The name of Pequod 
Harbour was conferred in 1754, when it embraced 
the present towns of New-London and Groton; 
and, four years after, the name of New-London 
was given, when the Mohegan River was called 
the Thames. 

This year the governor and deputy-governor of 
Connecticut were first paid for their services, re- 
ceiving £30 a year. Before that time all the civil 
officers appear to have served without reward, and 
from a sense of duty. Mr. Hopkins was chosen 
governor, and Mr. Ludlow deputy-governor. 

The Indians caused a most serious alarm this 
season : for the Narragansets and Nehantics once 
more withheld their stipulated wampum from the 
English, and used it to hire the Mohawks and Po. 
con*r>tucks to join them in a powerful assault on 
Uncas. Thomas Stanton was sent, with other 
men, by i^e governor and council to Pocomptuck, 
and found fr-e Indians in arms waiting for the Mo. 
hawks, bringing 400 muskets, with whom they 
were to march f or Mohegan, there to combine 
with 800 Narrag*nsets and Nehantics. They 
admitted that they i n d been hired: but, as the 
Mohawks did not come, m consequence of having 
lost men in a battle with ihe French at the North, 
and the messengers declared that the English 
would fight to the last in tha defence of Uncas, 
they at length abandoned their enterprise. It was 
found, on the other hand, that the Indians who had 
enlisted them had placed their women, children, and 
old men in swamps in their own country, and were 
ready to march, having insulted and robbed a num. 



120 NEGOTIATIONS WITH CANADA. [1648. 

ber of the English inhabitants, particularly in War- 
wick, where they killed about 100 cattle. The 
Rhode Islanders, indeed, were constrained by their 
danger to request the commissioners to be admitted 
into their confederacy : but were refused, unless 
they would join with Plymouth, in whose territory 
they were regarded as lying. The commissioners, 
still reluctant to resort to force, remonstrated with 
the Indians. 

Governor Stuyvesandt in the mean time had re- 
turned no answer to the request and inquiries made 
by the commissioners : but, on the contrary, seized 
at Manahadoes a vessel of Mr. Westerhouse (a 
Dutch merchant and planter residing at New-Ha- 
ven) without reasonable ground. The commis- 
sioners therefore addressed him another letter, 
protesting against the Dutch claim to all the 
coast from Cape Henlopen to Cape Cod, &*•> 
arid declaring that, unless they should receive nore 
satisfactory replies and conduct from hir*, they 
would treat Dutchmen and their vesss/s as the 
English were treated at Manahadoes. 

The New-England colonies ttnV year made a 
proposal to the governor and council of Canada 
to form a perpetual peace, to *e uninterrupted by 
the dissensions between the parent countries. The 
governor of Canada sent a Jesuit priest to Bos- 
ton, expressing his willingness to comply, on con- 
dition that the New-England colonies would join 
in a war against the Six Nations of Indians: 
but, as this was refused, on the ground that they 
had no just reason for such a war, the project 
failed. Had the French governor not insisted on 
that condition, the proposed step would have saved 
incalculable losses to both parties. 



1649.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 121 



CHAPTER XIV. 

Murder of Mr. Whitmore. — A new Fort built at Saybrook.— 
The Code of Laws. — Uncas complains to the Commission- 
ers against the Narragansets and Fequods. — Massachusetts 
lays an Impost on vessels and goods of the other Colonies.— 
Restrictions on Indian Traders. — Captain Atherton's visit to 
Narraganset and Nehantic. — Lands given to Captain Mason. 

Mr. John Whitmore, a representative in the 
General Court of New-Haven, was murdered at 
Stamford, where he lived, while searching for cat- 
tle in the woods. An Indian, the son of a sachem, 
brought in a report of his death, which he charged 
on Toquattoes. His body was sought for in vain 
until that Indian led the way to the spot ; and it 
was very evident that he was one of the murder- 
ers : but he made his escape. 

It was determined that another fort should be 
built at Saybrook, on New Fort Hill, which is said 
to be that small eminence on which the remains 
of the last fort are still to be seen. This spot is 
reported by tradition to be a little farther west than 
the site of the first, which has been worn away by 
the waves. Money was appropriated by the court, 
and men were to be impressed to do the work. 
The practice of impressment, which had been de- 
rived from England, was not quite abandoned at 
that time. 

A code of laws for the colony was established 
this year, having been digested by Mr. Ludlow. 
Punishments had before been various and uncer- 
L 



122 TJNCAS AND THE NARRAGANSETS. [1649, 

tain. A jury of twelve men was required, who, if 
doubtful about the law, were to bring in a "non 
liquet," or special verdict, and the court was to 
declare the law. The court might empannel a 
new jury after several trials, if they thought they 
had mistaken the law, and increase or diminish 
damages. Twelve able and unanimous jurors 
were required in cases of life, limb, and ban- 
ishment. 

This year an important measure was taken in 
England, the effects of which were of an interest, 
ing nature. This was the formation of the Society 
for propagating the Gospel in New-England. This 
association was formed through the influence of 
Mr. Edward Winslow. After publishing in Eng- 
land accounts of the success of the celebrated Eliot 
(called the Apostle to the Indians) and some of his 
collaborators, much interest was excited, and an 
act of Parliament passed. The society was to 
consist of sixteen persons, who could hold prop- 
erty not exceeding in value £200 a year, and 
goods and money without restriction. The com- 
missioners of the United Colonies of New-England 
were to receive and dispose of the money for 
preaching and propagating the Gospel among the 
natives, and for the maintaining of schools and 
nurseries of learning for the education of the chil- 
dren of natives. 

Uncas, who had wonderfully escaped so many- 
plots as were laid against him, had been assailed 
again at an unprepared moment, and had barely 
escaped with his life. He presented himself before 
the commissioners to make his complaint against 
his enemies for a new act of perfidy. He alleged 



1649.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 123 

that neither the captives nor the canoes which they 
had taken from him had been returned ; and he 
exhibited the marks of a dangerous wound, char- 
ging the sachems of the Narragansets and the Ne- 
hantics with having hired the Mohawks and the 
assassin who had inflicted it. While on board of 
a vessel in the Mohegan or Thames River, an In- 
dian had run him through the breast with a sword, 
leaving so severe a wound that it was thought for 
a time he would die. He declared that he had al- 
ways been a faithful friend of the English, and 
prayed that he might have justice, and be secured 
for the future. The presence of that noble-looking 
savage, with his athletic figure, the high character 
for faithfulness which he had so fully established, 
and the appeal he made for vengeance and protec- 
tion, must have made a strong impression on the 
assembly ; and the evidence which was furnished 
of the truth of his declarations was well calculated 
to increase it. The wily Ninigret underwent an 
examination before the commissioners, and was 
met with unanswerable proof of his perfidy : for 
the assassin confessed that he had been hired by 
him and Pessacus to kill Uncas ; and evidence was 
furnished to prove that the Mohawks had acknowl- 
edged they also had been paid to destroy him. He 
was therefore dismissed, with an assurance that it 
would be unsafe for him longer to delay the fulfil- 
ment of his promises. 

A report was circulated through the colonies 
about this time, which increased the general alarm 
as it led to the apprehension that the Narragansets 
and Nehantics intended to restore the nation of the 
Pequods : for it was rumoured that the son of Sas. 



124 CHARGES AGAINST UNCAS. [1649. 

sacus, or one of his brothers, was to be married to 
the daughter of Ninigret ; and the Pequods who 
had been given to Uncas had revolted, and fived 
separately for two years. All these things seemed 
to indicate that an Indian war was ready to break 
out ; and the commissioners thought that prepara- 
tions ought to be made for any emergency. 

They, however, listened to the complaints of 
Uncas's Pequods ; and it was found that they had 
heavy charges to make against him, which they 
substantiated. How much soever we may wish to 
indulge gratitude, respect, or admiration towards 
Uncas, we sometimes meet with facts in his history 
which put a strong check upon us. The great truth 
we are indeed often compelled to recall : that he was, 
after all, ignorant of the true God, and therefore 
necessarily ignorant of the first principles of vir- 
tue. The poor Pequods, being admitted to the 
presence of the commissioners, and finding that 
they were allowed an attentive and impartial hear- 
ing, stated that they had begun by serving Uncas 
faithfully, according to their promise, had been re- 
garded as his men, assisted him in his wars, and 
paid him tribute : but that he had been exceedingly 
extortionate, and made them pay him wampum 
forty times. They said that he had once prom- 
ised to treat them as Mohegans : but they had 
since been ill-treated in their plays and in other 
ways, and plundered, and even wounded by Uncas. 
Obachikquid, one of their chief men, declared that 
Uncas had taken his wife from him. 

These charges, with the accompanying testi- 
mony, must have mortified the Mohegan sachem ; 
and the commissioners, with decision and firmness 



1649.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 125 

highly becoming them, ordered that he should be 
reproved, restore the wife of Obachickquid, pay the 
Pequods damages, and be fined 100 fathoms of wam- 
pum. However* as Connecticut had determined 
never to allow the Pequods to be a nation again, 
they directed that he should receive them back, 
and treat them with moderation in all respects. 
This humiliation, it seems, they were extremely 
loath to submit to ; and, instead of obeying the de- 
cree of the commissioners, they withdrew from 
Uncas, and year after year sent in a petition re- 
questing to be made the subjects of the whites. 
Their plea had too much appearance of reason in 
it to be entirely rejected. They alleged that, al- 
though their tribe had done wrong, they had killed 
none of the colonists ; and that Wequash had prom- 
ised them, when sent by the whites, that they should 
suffer no injury if they would leave their country 
and not injure the English. The commissioners, 
therefore, to proceed as far as they felt at liberty 
to do, recommended to Connecticut to give them 
land to cultivate and live on, where they might be 
removed from the Mohegans, though still under the 
control of Uncas, repeating their injunction to him 
to treat them kindly. 

Mr. Westerhouse applied for permission to make 
reprisals on the Dutch, by seizing some of their ves- 
sels in return for his which they had taken, as he 
had not been able to obtain any satisfaction from 
them : but the commissioners chose to negotiate 
before resorting to any such measure. They 
therefore resolved that no resident or foreigner 
should trade with Indians in their jurisdiction, un- 
der penalty of the confiscation of vessels and goods; 
L2 



126 the BOUNDARY-LINE. [1649. 

and wrote to the Dutch governor to give him infor- 
mation of it, and of their adherence to the claim of 
Delaware. They added that they had greatly de. 
sired to make an accommodation of all difficulties 
with the Dutch, and that it might easily have been 
effected if he had accepted of their invitation to at- 
tend a meeting of the commissioners. 

The question of the boundary-line between Mas- 
sachusetts and Connecticut was discussed at length, 
and settled in favour of Connecticut, so that Spring, 
held was decided to belong to that colony. The 
Massachusetts commissioners, when this was de 
termined, produced an order of their General Cow* 
imposing a duty on all goods belonging to any in' 
habitants of Plymouth, Connecticut, or New-Haven 
imported within the Castle in Boston Harbour, or 
exported from any part of the bay. This act, which 
appears to have been dictated by an unbecoming 
spirit, was remonstrated against by the commis! 
sioners of the three aggrieved colonies in a calm 
but manly tone, concluding with these words : 
How far the premises agree with the law of love, 
and with the tenour and import of the articles of 
confederation, the commissioners tender and rec- 
ommend to the serious attention of the General 
Court for the Massachusetts ; and, in the mean 
time, desire to be spared in all future agitations 
respecting Springfield." 

Connecticut also complained of Massachusetts 
for running their boundary-line six or eight miles 
too far south, so as to include a whole rano- e of 
towns not belonging to her. The commissioners 
adopted the opinion that the line had not been 
fixed. The question, however, remained unsettled 



1649.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 127 

for nearly seventy years, and during that time Con- 
necticut was encroached upon, and several whole 
towns were settled in her territory by Massachu- 
setts. 

The General Court of Connecticut declared that 
all foreign vessels found trading with the Indians 
should be forfeited, with their goods, according to 
the recommendation of the commissioners. The 
court also ordered out fifty men, to assist in meas- 
ures against the murderers of John Whitmore, of 
Stamford ; and this is the last intimation we have 
of trouble from the Indians in that town. 

The General Court, which met in May at Hart- 
ford, gave to Captain Mason Chippachange Island 
in Mystic Bay, and 110 acres of land in Mystic ; 
and ordered that 500 acres of land, which had been 
granted to his five best officers and soldiers, should 
be laid out at Pequod or in the Neanticut country. 
Five hundred acres besides had been given to the 
captain the year before. 

The commissioners sent Captain Atherton, of 
Massachusetts, with forty men, to the Narraganset 
country, to demand the tribute due, with orders to 
take that in property, the sachem Pessacus, or his 
children. The Indians made excuses as usual, and 
many began to assemble, when Atherton entered 
the hut of Pessacus, drew him out by his hair, and 
threatened to shoot any one who should interfere. 
The chiefs who were present were intimidated, and 
the tribute was paid. Atherton then visited Nini- 
grate, the Nehantic sachem, forbade him to seize 
any of the Pequod country, and even to hunt in it ; 
told him his designs were known, and that the col- 
onies would not suffer him to prosecute them. 



128 gov. stlyvesandt's visit. [1649. 



CHAPTER XV. 

Governor Stuyvesandt meets the Commissioners at Hartford, 
and the Difficulties with the Dutch are settled by Arbitration. 
— A new Arrangement with Mr. Fenwick. — Mining Privileges 
granted to Mr. Wintbrop .— Norwalk incorporated arid Middle- 
town settled. — Governor Stuyvesandt's unfriendly Conduct.— 
Arrangements with the Pequods. 

The Dutch governor visited Hartford during the 
session of the commissioners, after having been 
often invited. He chose to communicate with 
them in writing, and, on the 13th of September, 
complained, in a letter, of encroachments on the 
West India Company, said the Dutch had pur- 
chased of the Indians the lands on the river before 
the English arrived, demanded the possession of 
them, objected to the law prohibiting trade with 
the Indians, and offered to settle a provisional line. 
The commissioners replied, that the Dutch claim 
was so indefinite and changeable that they did not 
understand it, but that they might be willing to re- 
peal the law objected to. They complained of the 
misconduct of the Dutch in the fort at Hartford : 
their agents having left debts unpaid, the men 
having assisted criminals to escape from the pris- 
on, &c. After some altercation, the differences 
were arranged by arbitrators : viz., Mr. Bradstreet, 
of Massachusetts, and Mr. Prince, of Plymouth, on 
the part of the colonies, and Mr. Thomas Willet 
and Mr. George Baxter on the part of the Dutch. 

They drew up articles of agreement, dated at 



1650.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 129 

Hartford on the 19th of September, 1650, in which 
most subjects of complaint against the Dutch were 
deferred to the consideration of the States and com- 
pany in Holland, as having arisen under the gov- 
ernment of Kieft : Governor Stuyvesandt declining 
to answer them. The claims of New-Haven for 
land purchased of the Indians on Delaware Bay, 
and for damages done their trade by the Dutch, 
were deferred for the decision of Holland and 
England, for want of sufficient information ; and 
the parties were urged to conduct all things in love 
and peace. On an explanation by Governor Stuy- 
vesandt, declaring a mistake made by his secretary, 
the subject of the claim of the Dutch to New- Haven, 
which had been erroneously reported, was passed 
over. They agreed to run a line on Long Island 
between the English and Dutch settlements, from 
the eastern part of Oyster Bay straight to the sea. 
They also made the line between them, on the 
main land, to extend from the west side of Green- 
wich Bay (in the southwestern corner of the pres- 
ent State of Connecticut), twenty miles north, to 
be extended by the Dutch and New-Haven colony, 
provided the line should not come within ten miles 
of Hudson's River. The Dutch were not to build 
within six miles of the line, and Greenwich was to 
remain for the present under the Dutch. The land 
at Hartford then actually in possession of the Dutch 
was allowed to them, and all else to Connecticut. 

It was agreed that the rule respecting the deliv- 
ering of fugitives, established between the colonies, 
should be observed between them and the Dutch. 
Governor Stuyvesandt and his agents (Messrs. Wil- 
let and Baxter) promised to give back Greenwich to 



130 NORWALK NAMED. [1651. 

New-Haven. He informed the commissioners that 
he had directions from Holland to cultivate friend- 
ship with the colonies, and proposed to form an 
intimate union : but this was declined until the 
will of the colonies should be known. 

Difficulties, however, arose about the payment 
of the stipulated sums to Mr. Fenwick, and a new 
agreement was made with him, according to which 
£180 was to be paid annually for ten years, be- 
sides several sums from different towns, and an 
impost on beaver-skins, so that the whole amount 
paid for ordnance, arms, and stores at the fort, and 
the right of jurisdiction^ was above £2000. Com- 
mittees from the towns met at Saybrook on the 
5th of February, 1651, to hear an explanation of 
the agreements, by which the inhabitants obtained 
satisfactory information on the subject. 

The General Court recommended to the com- 
missioners to consider the conduct of Rhode Island 
in receiving fugitive criminals. A Dutch vessel, 
commanded by Augustus Harriman, was seized 
this year at Saybrook for trading with the Indians, 
and confiscated with the cargo, while he was fined 
£40. 

John Winthrop, Esq., at this early period hav- 
ing hopes of discovering mines, was authorized by 
the Assembly to possess any mines or salt-springs 
which he might discover and work, together with 
the land around them to a distance of two or three 
miles, if not within any town then settled. 

The eastern and middle parts of Norwalk had 
been purchased ten years, but, as yet, contained 
few inhabitants. The western part was bought in 
1650, on the petition of Nathan Ely and Richard 



1653.] HISTORY OP CONNECTICUT. 131 

Olmstead, and the court named it and gave per- 
mission for its settlement. 

Middletown was settled by families from Eng- 
land, Hartford, and Wethersfield about this time. 
Most of them went from Hartford. Numbers soon 
came from Woburn, Rowley, and Chelmsford, in 
Massachusetts. It was called by the Indian name, 
Mattabeseck, until 1653. There were only fifty. 
three householders in the town twenty years later. 

Governor Stuyvesandt soon gave the people of 
New-Haven reason to change their opinion of him : 
for he seized and imprisoned a party from that 
colony who were on their way by sea to settle on 
Delaware Bay, and made them relinquish their 
design. He also forbade some of the people of 
Southampton to remove their property within their 
line. The commissioners, who met that year at 
New-Haven, addressed a protest to him, charging 
him with violating his agreement, and declaring 
their intention of sending 100 men or more to Del- 
aware, to protect settlers on the land owned by 
New-Haven. 

The commissioners now ordered Captain Mason 
to require of the Pequods the tribute of wampum 
which they had agreed to pay annually on their 
submission in 1638 ; and Uncas came to Hartford 
to arrange the difficulty, accompanied by some ef 
Ninigrate's men. It was agreed that past dues 
should be given up, and that, after the payment of 
the tribute for the next ten years, no more should 
ever be required of them. The Pequods showed 
their satisfaction with this arrangement by their 
subsequent faithfulness in peace and war. 

The celebrated minister John Eliot, commonly 



132 THE NAVIGATION ACT. [1651. 

called the Apostle to the Indians, began his benev- 
olent and successful labours among the natives in 
1646 as a missionary, under the patronage of the 
legislature of Massachusetts, who in that year 
passed an act for the encouragement of the Gospel 
among the savages. He afterward visited Hart- 
ford during the meeting of the General Assembly, 
when they invited the Podunk Indians to hear that 
excellent man explain the Christian religion in their 
own language. Numbers of them went from East 
Windsor to hear him : but, after listening to a long 
address, when they were asked to determine wheth- 
er they would receive the Gospel or not, the chief 
men replied that they had no wish to change the 
customs of their fathers ; and the tribe remained 
in their original heathen state. 



CHAPTER XVI. 1651-1652. 

The Navigation Act passed by Parliament to restrict the Com- 
merce of the Colonies — Disregarded.— Commissioners from 
Canada to invite the Colonies to join them in War with the 
Five Nations.— The Proposal declined.— In consequence of 
the War between England and Holland, Governor Stuyve- 
sandt assumes a hostile Attitude. — Apprehensions of the Col- 
ony from Dutch Intrigues with the Indians. — Explanations 
demanded by the Commissioners, but not made. — Troops or- 
dered to be raised, and War declared.— Massachusetts refuses 
to approve and to sustain the War.— The other Colonies pro- 
test. — The Commissioners declare War against Ninigrate, 
Sachem of Nehantic. — A Dutch Fleet expected.— It fails to 
arrive. 

In 1651 the Navigation Act was passed by the 
British Parliament, forbidding anything to be ex* 
ported from the colonies to any place out of the 



1651.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 13$ 

English possessions. New-England would not 
submit to this law, denying the right of Great Brit* 
ain to restrict her trade ; and the commerce of the 
Eastern colonies continued free with different parts 
of the world. The English complained, but never 
seriously attempted to suppress it. 

Two petitioners of an uncommon description 
presented themselves before the commissioners 
this year. They were French Jesuits of good ad- 
dress from Canada, who had come to engage the 
colonies in a war against the Mohawks. Their 
names were Godfroy and Gabriel Druillets, and 
they came with commissions from the governor of 
Canada and the council of New-France. They re- 
quested that, in case the colonies should not en- 
gage in the war, volunteers might be enlisted and 
sent, and that the Acadians might be taken under 
their protection, promising a liberal reward from 
the French government, and an arrangement for 
free trade with Canada. 

The commissioners declined the proposals, ex- 
pressing their compassion for the Acadians, but 
saying that they should expose many of their 
friendly Indians by engaging in the war, and that 
some of them professed to be Christians. They 
stated that the Mohawks had treated them well in 
the Pequod war ; and that, although they wished 
to treat the Canadians in a friendly manner, they 
could not even permit the proposed enlistments. 
They then urged objections to the trade in fire- 
arms and ammunition which was carried on by 
the French, 

Captain Mason was about to accept of an offer 
from some of the people of New- Haven, to become 
M 



134 HOSTILITY OF STUYVESANDT. [1652 

governor of a colony which they proposed to form 
on Delaware Bay : but the General Court of Con- 
necticut prevented him, and the enterprise failed. 
The first grand list of Connecticut was made out, 
and embraced seven towns, amounting to £75,492 
10s. 6d. 

The people were under serious -apprehensions 
in the year 1652, on account of dangers both at 
home and abroad. The Dutch and English had 
become involved in a war in 1651, and there were 
symptoms of a general war with the Indians. Say- 
brook Fort was strengthened, and the families were 
ordered to retire to it, while all Indians who would 
not give up their arms were regarded as enemies. 
Governor Stuyvesandt assumed an unfriendly and 
contemptuous tone, revived his renounced claims, 
and tried to hire Indians to destroy the English. 
On the discoveiy of this, an extraordinary meeting 
of the commissioners took place in April. Strange 
as it may seem, after the friendly arrangements he 
had made and proposed, it was too clearly proved 
that he had visited the western Indians beyond 
Hudson River, and urged them to join him against 
the English ; that he had had Ninigrate with him, 
and sent him home in a sloop, with arms and am- 
munition ; and that many tribes in different parts 
of the country had received invitations from him. 
Such, however, are the unrighteous principles of 
war, which civilized and Christian nations have 
too often adopted. They allow falsehood in nego- 
tiations and the most detestable plots for the de- 
struction of enemies. He, no doubt, had received 
orders from Holland, on the declaration of the war 
with England, to distress the English colonies to 



1652.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 135 

his utmost, in order to gain some advantage in the 
contest. From similar causes, the colonies suffer- 
ed severely in the subsequent wars of England, es- 
pecially with France ; and it would be extremely 
unfair to charge either upon them or upon the In- 
dians the chief blame for the conflicts in which 
the colonies were engaged with the savage tribes 
around them. Had they not been involved by dis. 
putes not their own, judging from the scrupulous 
Christian policy which they generally displayed, and 
the success they had begun to experience, the In- 
dians would probably have become Christianized 
and civilized, and the country saved from a thou, 
sand calamities which we must hereafter relate. 

It was reported that a general massacre was to 
be made in all the towns on election day, when 
many of the men were commonly absent from home. 
This put the people on so close and constant a 
watch, that labour was greatly interrupted ; and, 
although Governor Stuyvesandt wrote, denying the 
charges against him, and offered to go to Boston, 
or to receive agents at Manahadoes to prove his 
innocence, other letters confirmed the reports, and 
six of the commissioners were in favour of an im- 
mediate declaration of war against the Dutch. 
Agents were sent, and Stuyvesandt then refused to 
submit to any examination except such as his two 
agents should consent to ; and they were men who 
had been complained of at Hartford for ill conduct, 
and one of whom had been put under bonds for 
criminal conduct. With these the agents of the 
commissioners would not confer, but returned after 
protesting. 

In the mean time, the commissioners had order- 



136 MASSACHUSETTS DECLINES WAR. [1652. 

ed 500 men to be raised, under the command of 
Captain Leverett, and that the commissioners 
should meet at New-Haven in case of war. 

Another meeting of the commissioners was held, 
when the evidence against the Dutch appeared so 
much strengthened, the representations of Captain 
Underhill (who was still in their service) were so 
strong, and the conduct of Stuyvesandt so equivo- 
cal, that war was declared with unanimity, except 
Mr. Bradstreet, of Massachusetts. His colony still 
expressed great unwillingness to engage in hostil- 
ities ; and the General Court, in violation of the 
articles of union, refused to join the other colonies 
in the contest, and declared that the commissioners 
could not bind them to engage in a war against their 
convictions. After much deliberation, the commis- 
sioners dissolved ; on which Governor Haynes call- 
ed a special court on the 25th of June, which led 
to another meeting of the commissioners at Boston 
on the 11th of September. 

The Massachusetts commissioners then proposed 
to drop the subject : but the others persisted, and 
agreed to return home, protesting against Massa. 
chusetts. This led the General Court of that col- 
ony to write a professed retraction, though in equiv- 
ocal language. The commissioners then proceed- 
ed to declare war against Ninigrate, sachem of the 
Nehantics, on account of his violation of all his 
promises, his refusal to explain his conduct, and 
his endeavour to kindle a war. They also decla- 
red war against the Dutch. But Mr. Bradstreet 
opposed his associates in both these measures; 
and Massachusetts refused to bear any share of the 
expense. 



1653.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 137 

The General Courts of Connecticut and New- 
Haven soon met, and agreed to address the Lord 
Protector (Cromwell) for assistance to reduce or 
drive away the Dutch ; and Mr. Hopkins, who was 
then in England, was requested to aid Captain 
Astwood, whom they appointed their agent. 

For defence, a guard was sent to Stamford, then 
on the frontier ; and New- Haven sent a vessel of 
ten or twelve guns, which was called a frigate, to 
cruise in the Sound, and keep the Nehantics at 
home. It was known that the Dutch were in con- 
stant expectation of a fleet from Holland ; and the 
colonists were in the greatest anxiety, fearing that 
a general rising of the Indians was to be made on 
its appearance. But the successes of the English 
fleets against Holland disappointed Governor Stuy- 
vesandt of his re-enforcement ; and the Indians 
could not be combined against the colonies, so that 
Providence averted the evils which long hung over 
them. But other troubles soon arose. The fron- 
tier towns blamed the governments of New-Haven 
and Connecticut for delaying to invade the Dutch 
territory ; and the town of Fairfield determined to 
begin the war themselves, and appointed Mr. Lud- 
low to the office of commander-in-chief, which he 
accepted. This rebellion was suppressed by re- 
monstrance, though with difficulty ; and the lead- 
ers of it, named Basset and Chapman, were pun- 
ished. 

M2 



138 DEATH OP GOVERNOR HAYNES. [1654. 



CHAPTER XVII. 

Death of Governor Haynes. — The Dutch House at Hartford 
seized, according to Orders from England — Connecticut and 
New-Haven having petitioned Cromwell for Aid against the 
Dutch, four Ships of War arrive at Boston.— Peace between 
England and Holland. — Massachusetts reconciled. — Trouble 
with Ninigrate.— The Pequods taken under the Care of the 
Assembly in 1655.— The New-Haven Code of Laws.— Death 
of Mr. Wolcott. — Proposals from Cromwell and Stuyvesandt. 
— Indian Disturbances. — Death of Governor Eaton. 

In the year 1654, the people of Connecticut suf- 
fered a great loss by the death of the man who had 
been the principal in its settlement and government. 
This was Governor Haynes, who was considered 
as second to no man in New-England. He had 
left Copford Hall, his seat in Essex, England, to 
dwell in America, though his income was worth 
£1000 a year. He resided for a time at Cam- 
bridge with the Rev. Mr. Hooker, and was chosen 
governor of Massachusetts. He came to New- 
England two years after the landing at Plymouth, 
and accompanied Mr. Hooker to Hartford. Trum. 
bull says, he appeared to be a gentleman of emi. 
nent piety, strict morals, and sound judgment. He 
paid attention to family government, instruction, 
and religion. His great integrity and wise man- 
agement of all affairs, in private and public, so 
raised and fixed his character in the esteem of the 
people, that they always, when the constitution 
would permit, placed him in the chief seat of gov- 
ernment, and continued him in it until his death. 



1654.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 139 

Orders were received from the English Parlia- 
ment in the spring to treat the Dutch as enemies ; 
and the Dutch house and lands in Hartford were 
accordingly taken by the colony. A fast was ob- 
served for the various public calamities. Mr. Lud- 
low, who had been deputy-governor of Massachu- 
setts and Connecticut, removed to Virginia this 
year, probably on account of his hasty acceptance 
of an insurrectionary office at Fairfield. He was 
then clerk of that town, and carried the records 
with him. He was skilled in the principles of law, 
and had rendered much service in forming the Con- 
stitution of Connecticut, and compiling the code of 
the colony, which was printed at Cambridge in 
1672. 

Mr. Hopkins was chosen governor during his ab- 
sence in England, and Mr. Wells deputy-governor. 

The whole number of rateable persons in Con- 
necticut this year was 775, and the grand list 
£79,073. Of this amount Hartford had 177 per- 
sons and £19,609; Windsor, 165 and £15,833; 
Wethersfield, 113 and £12,602; Fairfield, 94 and 
£8634 ; Say brook, 53 and £4437 ; Stratford, 72 
and £7958 ; Farmington, 46 and £5519 ; Mid- 
dletown, 31 and £2172 ; and Norwalk, 24 and 
£2309. 

About the beginning of the summer months the 
colonies were cheered by the unusual sight of three 
or four ships arriving at Boston from England 
with troops for their aid. These had been sent by 
Cromwell in reply to their petition, with Major 
Sedgwick and Captain Leveret. Massachusetts al- 
lowed men to be enlisted in her territory, although 
she still refused to go farther in the intended war 



140 ninigrate's evasions. [1654 

against the Dutch : but Connecticut and New-Ha- 
ven sent commissioners to Boston, authorized to 
offer large contributions of men and provisions. 
Eight hundred men were to be collected in all. 
Happily, the news of peace arrived in season to 
prevent things from proceeding any farther, the 
defeat of Admiral Van Tromp having led to this 
result. 

Massachusetts now began to ask for the re-es- 
tablishment of the union of the colonies, which her 
conduct was considered as having destroyed. Her 
court appointed commissioners as usual, and pro- 
posed that their meetings should be resumed. The 
other colonies consented, on the understanding that 
the past should be forgotten, and the combination 
firmly settled for the future. 

Ninigrate, having a design against the Long Isl- 
and Indians, hired the Mohawks, Pocomtocks, and 
Wampanoags (a tribe of Narragansets) to aid in 
their destruction : but Major Mason was despatch- 
ed with troops, and Lieutenant Seely from New- 
Haven, to join him at Saybrook. They took a sup- 
ply of ammunition for the Island Indians, to be 
used only in defence ; and they had been instruct- 
ed to avoid bloodshed if possible, in case Ninigrate 
should appear, but to defend the friendly Indians, 
if necessary. 

On the 7th of September the commissioners met 
at Hartford, and sent to Ninigrate to appear before 
them. He returned answer by Mr. Jonathan Gil- 
bert that he had done no harm, and only wished 
to punish the Long Island Indians for killing a son 
of one of his sachems and sixty of his men. The 
Indians from the interior, whose assembling in the 



1654.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 141 

Narraganset country had caused so much uneasi- 
ness, had come, he said, as his allies, to assist him 
against the Long Islanders ; and as to the tribute 
demanded for his Pequods, he pretended ignorance 
of the demand. The commissioners then ordered 
that 40 horsemen and 150 footmen should be im- 
mediately raised by Massachusetts, 45 by Connec- 
ticut, and 31 by New-Haven ; and that, without de- 
lay, 20 horsemen and 40 footmen should march 
into the Narraganset country. Major Gibbons, 
Major Denison, and Captain Atherton were nomi- 
nated, that Massachusetts might select a comman- 
der-in-chief from those three men of known abil- 
ity : but the General Court preferred Major Wil- 
lard. The commissioners ordered him to march 
to Ninigrate's residence, and demand his Pequods 
and the tribute due for them ; and to subdue him 
in case of his refusing. 

The troops found he had retired into a swamp, 
and might have destroyed the wigwams and corn : 
but they returned without doing anything, their 
commander saying that his instructions were equiv- 
ocal, and the season was too far advanced. About 
100 Pequods deserted to the English. It appears 
that Major Willard was appointed by Massachu- 
setts that he might prevent bloodshed if possible : 
but he was considered as having greatly increased 
the evils of war, and caused the destruction which 
soon after ensued. This conduct of Massachusetts 
it is as difficult to justify as that of which complaint 
had been made the past year. Their motive ap- 
pears to have been to preserve peace ; and this we 
cannot too highly admire. They may have acted 
under a different view of things, or with different 



142 THE CODE OF NEW-HAVEN. [1655. 

evidence before them : but the course they pursued 
was certainly unjustifiable, as it was an insincere 
one. 

The General Court took the Pequods under their 
jurisdiction in 1655, after their repeated requests ; 
and they were afterward furnished with land on 
Pawcatuck and Mystic rivers, where they were 
collected under an Indian governor appointed by 
the court. Permission was given them to hunt 
on the land west of the Mystic. The court then 
passed laws for them, requiring them to pay the 
tribute stipulated after the Pequod war to their 
governors, and engage in no offensive war without 
the consent of the court ; making blasphemy, mur- 
der, witchcraft, and conspiracy against the colonies 
capital crimes ; and laying penalties for Sabbath- 
breaking, adultery, and drunkenness. A thief was 
to pay double the amount stolen. 

And now Ninigrate, imboldened by the absence 
of force, sent across the Sound, and so closely 
pressed the Indians and English on Long Island, 
that the most urgent appeals were received in 
Connecticut for immediate relief. Captain John 
Youngs was therefore hastened off with an armed 
vessel, to cut off communication between Neanticut 
and Long Island, and to draught men from Say- 
brook and Long Island. Word was also sent to the 
towns on Long Island, and to the sachem of the 
Montauket Indians, with supplies ; and the Nar- 
ragansets were informed of the preparations made 
against them. 

A code of laws for New. Haven was drawn up 
by Governor Eaton, at the request of the General 
Court ; and 500 copies were printed in England, 



1656.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 143 

under the charge of Governor Hopkins, for dis- 
tribution in the colony. The expense was defrayed 
by Governor Hopkins, who sent at the same time 
a collection of valuable books as a present. 

There was an iron furnace in East- Haven as 
early as 1655. The place was then called Stony 
River ; and bog ore was brought from North- Ha- 
ven. It was continued in operation until 1680. 
The first iron-works in Massachusetts, and proba- 
bly in New-England, were established in 1645, at 
Lynn. 

This year occurred the death of Henry Wolcott, 
Esq., who came to America in 1630, having sold 
his estate in Somersetshire, in England, for £8000, 
on account of the persecutions to which the Puri- 
tans were exposed. He at first settled at Dor- 
chester, Massachusetts, with Mr. Warham, and 
in 1636 was one of the first settlers of Windsor. 
He was one of the magistrates from 1643 till he 
died ; and there was always one of his descendants 
in the magistracy until 1754. 

The first troop of horse in any part of Connecti- 
cut was raised by the colony of New- Haven in 
1656, when sixteen horsemen were required of the 
five towns on the coast. They were allowed the 
privilege of freedom from taxation, and were not 
to be trained with the footmen. Common soldiers 
were ordered to practise firing, and broadsword and 
cudgel exercise. 

Thn year an urgent invitation was sent to the 
colonies by the Lord Protector of England, Oliver 
Cromwell, to send the people to Jamaica, which 
had been obtained by conquest : but i/ was declined. 

Governor Stuy vesandt addressed to the commis- 



144 THE INDIANS TROUBLESOME. [1656 

sioners a proposal to receive the Dutch colony into 
their union, congratulating them on the happy ter- 
mination of the war in Europe : but they did not 
encourage his advances, as they did not rate his 
sincerity very highly, and regarded the Dutch as 
intruders in a part of America to which the Eng- 
lish had a rightful claim. They, however, re- 
quested from him reparation for past damages, 
and specific explanations of his intentions with re- 
spect to the jurisdiction of Greenwich and Oyster 
Bay. The former place was in a state of misrule ; 
and the court of New-Haven resolved, that if the 
inhabitants should not appear and submit to them 
before the 25th of June, Richard Crab and other 
principal favourers of drunkenness and runaways 
should be arrested and punished. This brought 
them to terms. 

The excitement among the Indians appears to 
have affected all the tribes. Even Uncas partook 
of the spirit. He attacked the Podunk Indians in 
the eastern part of Hartford (now East- Hartford or 
East- Windsor) ; and he or his brother fell upon 
the Norwootucks. He also challenged the Nar- 
ragansets, and yet joined Ninigrate against the 
Montaukets, whom he deceived. The commis- 
sioners required him to make restitution to those 
he had injured, and forbade him to make war with- 
out their advice. A dreadful murder was com- 
mitted at Fairfield by an Indian named Mesapano, 
probably aided by the Norwootucks and Pocom- 
tucks ; and the Montaukets, for whom the Eng- 
glish had done so much, when they found them, 
selves relieved from danger, turned upon their 
white neighbours and did them much damage, so 



1657.] HISTORY Ob CONNECTICUT. 14& 

thai Major Mason was sent to Long Island. The 
various tribes were this year at war with each 
other, and sometimes Indians would rush into Eng- 
lish houses, pursued by their enemies, who would 
often kill them before the eyes of the families. 
The Narragansets invaded Mohegan, and Connec- 
ticut was obliged to send relief to Uncas. They 
also plundered some of the colonists. The com- 
missioners forbade the Indians to continue their 
wars, and offered to arbitrate between them. 

This year New- Haven suffered a severe loss 
by the death of Governor Eaton. He was a na- 
tive of Stony Stratford, in Oxfordshire, England, 
the son of a minister, educated as an East India 
merchant, and successively deputy-governor of the 
East India Company, and agent of the king at the 
Danish court. In consequence of the bloody per- 
secutions of Bishop Laud, he emigrated to New- 
England with his pastor, Mr. Davenport, and was 
annually elected governor of New-Haven from its 
settlement until his death. The colony paid his 
funeral expenses and erected a monument to his 
memory. He observed the plain and pious habits 
of the best men of his time in the strict govern- 
ment of his family, which sometimes consisted of 
thirty persons, praying and reading the Scriptures 
with them every morning and evening, and instruct- 
ing them an hour or two on the Sabbath, praying 
and singing with them. 

His son-in-law, Governor Hopkins, died about 
the same time. He much resembled him in char- 
acter and habits, particularly in his strict observ- 
ance of family and secret devotions. While on a 
visit to England, he was appointed first warden of 
N 



146 DIFFERENCES ABOUT BAPTISM. [1657. 

the fleet in place of his brother, deceased, and af- 
terward commissioner of the admiralty and navy, 
and member of parliament, which prevented him 
from returning. He was distinguished for charity 
to the poor, and left several liberal legacies, and a 
large sum for the education of " hopeful youths in 
a way of learning, both at the grammar-school and 
college, for the public service of the country in fu- 
ture times." This was the foundation of the gram- 
mar-schools at New- Haven, Hartford, and Hadley, 
which continue to this day. 

A question having arisen whether baptism ought 
not to be conferred on a larger proportion of the 
children, the magistrates of Connecticut sent sev- 
eral of their number to confer with those of Mas- 
sachusetts. In 1678, the difference of opinion on 
this subject had become so great, that a number of 
members of the churches of Hartford, Wethersfield, 
and Windsor determined to form settlements higher 
up the river. They separated themselves in a 
peaceable and orderly manner, and founded the 
towns of Northampton and Hadley in Massachu- 
setts. 



1658-9.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 147 



CHAPTER XVIII. 

The fast Troop of Horse in Connecticut Colony.— Governor 
Wells. — Governor Newman, of New-Haven. — Uncas. — 
Grand Juries established in the Towns — Uncas's Grant to 
Major Mason.— Arrival of Goffe and Whalley, two of the re- 
gicide Judges of Charles I. — Their favourable Reception. — 
Sent for by Charles II.— Secreted at New-Haven. 

A troop of horse was raised in 1658, which was 
the first ever formed within the territory of the 
present state of Connecticut. 

Thomas Wells was chosen governor of Connec- 
ticut, and John Winihrop deputy-governor. There 
were 16 magistrates and 26 deputies. At New- 
Haven, Mr. Francis Newman was made governor, 
and William Leet deputy-governor. 

Stonington was settled this year, under the name 
of Pawcatuck. The territory being claimed by 
Massachusetts as well as Connecticut, the settlers 
determined peaceably to govern themselves until 
the jurisdiction should be settled. The commis- 
sioners decided that Mystic River should be the 
boundary, and set off Southerton to Massachusetts. 

The colonies suffered this year from fear of the 
Indians, poor harvests, uncommon mortality, and 
religious controversies, so that great wisdom was 
required of the commissioners. 

In 1659, Setauket, or Cromwell Bay, on Long 
Island, was admitted under the jurisdiction of Con- 
necticut. 



148 ARRIVAL OF THE REGICIDES. [1660. 

In 1660, the freemen annulled the law forbidding 
the annual election of the same person as governor. 

Norwich was first settled in the spring of this 
year, by the Rev. James Fitch, of Saybrook, and 
most of his congregation, with some others. Un- 
cas continued to be very serviceable, as his people 
often were after his death, chiefly by furnishing 
scouts in war. Not long after the settlement oi 
Norwich, the Narragansets repeatedly appeared 
ready to fall upon the helpless little town ; and, in 
times of alarm, the Mohegans would remove their 
wigwams near to it. 

Grand jurors were this year ordered to be ap- 
pointed in every town, and to present to the court 
all breaches of law. Huntington, on Long Island, 
was taken under the jurisdiction of Connecticut. 
The account with George Fenwick, Esq., was set- 
tied with his heirs, Captain Cullick and his wife, 
by an exchange of full discharges. It appeared 
that the colony had paid more than £500 more 
than would have been due under the original 
agreement. 

Uncas had reserved a large quantity of land as 
planting-ground, which he sold this year to Major 
Mason, now deputy-governor, for the colony, enough 
being reserved by the latter for a farm, and an 
agreement being had that Uncas, Wawequa, and 
their successors should always have sufficient plant- 
ing-ground out of the tract. A controversy of sev- 
enty years, however, grew out of this informal con- 
tract, between the colony and the heirs of Major 
Mason. 

Two men arrived at Boston in July who had 
made a distinguished figure in England. They 



1661.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 149 

were Lieutenant-general Whalley and Major-gen- 
eral Goffe, two of the judges who had condemn- 
ed Charles the First to death. Expecting to be 
beheaded if they should fall into the hands of his 
son, they had the prudence to leave England be- 
fore he was proclaimed, and crossed the ocean in 
a vessel commanded by Captain Gooking. 

Generals Goffe and Whalley were received, on 
their arrival at Boston, with marks of distinction ; 
and, on removing to Cambridge, often appeared in 
public without apprehension, especially on the Sab- 
bath, when they attended worship. They are de- 
scribed as men of remarkably polished manners 
and dignified deportment. In February, 1661, 
news came from England that thirty-nine of the 
regicide judges (as they were called) had been con- 
demned, and ten executed as traitors. Governor 
Endicott then called a General Court, and proposed 
to have the two generals arrested : but they had 
so many friends in the court and among the peo- 
ple that the measure was not adopted. They were 
advised to leave Massachusetts, and sent to Con- 
necticut, recommended to trusty friends. They 
reached Hartford on the 27th of March, and went 
on without delay to New- Haven. They soon ac- 
quired a high reputation among the inhabitants for 
piety as well as intelligence : but when the proc- 
lamation of the king was received, requiring their 
arrest wherever they might be, they appeared only 
at Milford in the daytime, commonly returning at 
night to New-Haven, where Mr. Davenport fur- 
nished them with a retreat in his house. 

But the anxiety of their friends was much in- 
creased by the arrival of two young English roy- 
N2 



150 CONCEALMENT OF THE REGICIDES. [1661 • 

alists at Boston, with a mandate from the king for 
their apprehension, and particulars of the trials and 
execution of some of their associate regicide judges. 
The magistrates now became alarmed, fearing that 
the king would take from the colonies some of those 
rights and privileges which they had hitherto en- 
joyed, and of which their brethren were deprived 
in England. Some of them may also have appre- 
hended that they would be imprisoned or otherwise 
ill treated, if they should incur the displeasure of 
the king. The governors of Massachusetts and 
Connecticut did what they were required to do by 
the king's order: that is, they gave the required 
warrants for the apprehension of the fugitives. It 
is not improbable, however, that they may have 
secretly taken measures for their security. Gov- 
ernor Leet, of New-Haven colony, however, was 
called on to act with some decision, either for or 
against them, as Goffe and Whalley were in his 
jurisdiction. He was at his residence in Guilford 
when Thomas Kellond and Thomas Kirk, the two 
pursuivants, called to demand his aid in the king's 
name. They wanted horses immediately to pro- 
ceed to New-Haven, where they had been inform- 
ed the regicides then were. The governor detain- 
ed them until the next day, but sent off an Indian 
and a white messenger, as they affirmed, probably 
to give timely notice to his friends. The court, 
being composed partly of unyielding opponents of 
the king, did not agree on anything ; and the mes- 
sengers sought in vain : all the people being in fa- 
vour of the fugitives. President Styles's book on 
"The Regicide Judges" contains a minute account 
of their proceedings. It is reported that one day, 



1661.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 151 

while the fugitives were making one of their fre- 
quent removals to avoid discovery, they were so 
nearly overtaken in New-Haven, near the foot of 
Neck Pvock, tha„ Lhsy had only time to hide under 
the bridge, over which their pursuers passed with- 
out seeing them. Some of their most secret re- 
treats were, the " Lodge," or " Hatchet Harbour," 
and Fort Rock Hill, both in Woodbridge. An- 
other was a cave, or, rather, natural chamber found 
among five large rocks lying together on the brow 
of West Rock, near New. Haven, where they often 
slept, and whence they had an extensive view over 
the country and the Sound. It is evident that the 
regard in which they were held at New- Haven 
was very high : for, although they more than once 
went into the town, and offered to deliver them- 
selves up to the king, their friends would not allow 
them. Their pursuers were at length obliged to 
return to England without success; and New-Ha- 
ven colony was much blamed. The General Court 
of Massachusetts addressed the governor a letter 
of censure, to which he replied, by direction of the 
New- Haven court, exculpating himself, and request- 
ing that his colony might be represented by a gen- 
eral agent for New-England, in the applications 
about to be made for patents. 

Generals GofFe and VVhalley lived and died in 
secrecy, concealed by friends : the former proba- 
bly in Hadley. Whalley and Dixwell were inter- 
red in the old burying-ground in the public square 
at New-Haven, where their plain stone monuments 
still remain. 

The colonies delayed to proclaim Charles the 
Second as king until they thought it would be un- 



152 OPPOSITION TO CHARLES II. [1661. 

safe to delay any longer ; and New-Haven was the 
last to take so disagreeable a step. On the 21st 
of August, 1661, the court laconically declared that 
they acknowledged him king, and themselves " his 
majesty's loyal and faithful subjects." 



CHAPTER XIX. 

Death of Governor Newman, of New- Haven, and Election of 
Governor Leet. — Distrust of King Charles II. in that Colony. 
—Connecticut applies for a Charter. — It is obtained.— The 
Privileges it conferred. — The Government organized under it. 
— Measures taken to merge New-Haven Colony in that ol 
Connecticut. —Opposition and Delay. — The Patent granted 
to the Duke of York —The King's Commissioners and Ships 
of War arrive at Boston.— The Dread of greater Evils inclines 
New-Haven to unite with Connecticut. — New-York taken by 
the English. — The Dutch Possessions all given up. 

This year terminated the life of Francis New. 
man, Esq., the second governor of New-Haven. 
He much resembled Governor Eaton in character 
and habits. William Leet, Esq., of Guilford, was 
chosen in his place. But the feelings of many of 
the people were against King Charles the Second, 
who had recently come to the throne ; and several 
of the men chosen for magistrates this year refused 
to accept, apprehending that the oath might bind 
them to obedience to the king in some points in 
which they could not conscientiously obey him. 
Two of them absolutely refused ; and Mr. Fenn 
took the oath conditionally, saying that, in matters 



1660.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 153 

foreign to the colony he reserved the right of not 
acting. 

In March, 1660, the General Court of Connec- 
ticut had determined to apply to the King of Eng- 
land for a patent ; and a petition to him was drawn 
up at the session in May. and intrusted to Govern- 
or Winthrop, as agent, to offer it. It represent- 
ed that all the land of the colony had been pur- 
chased or conquered at the expense of the people, 
who had thus made a valuable addition to the king- 
dom. A letter was addressed to Lord Say-and- 
Seal, stating that some of the people of the colony, 
and the ancestors of others, had been encouraged 
by him to remove to America ; that the colony had 
reluctantly purchased the jurisdiction of his com- 
pany to Saybrook, to prevent Mr. Fenwick from 
imposing restrictions on trade, and from selling it 
to the Dutch ; that the controversy concerning the 
Massachusetts boundary rendered a patent neces- 
sary to them ; and that his influence in their fa- 
vour was very desirable. 

Governor Winthrop was chosen agent for the 
colonies, and sailed for England. He found Lord 
Say-and-Seal (the only survivor of the original 
patentees of Connecticut) highly favourable to the 
wish of the colonies. As he was high in the king's 
favour, and had just been made lord privy seal, he 
exerted himself to procure the royal assent to the 
patents, assisted by the Earl of Manchester, cham- 
berlain of the household, who had before been as- 
sociated with him in favour of the colonies. Gov- 
ernor Winthrop, having made sure of their services, 
waited on the king, and showed him a ring which had 
been given him by his majesty's father. His next 



154 DISLIKE OF THE KING. [1662. 

step was to present him the petition of Connecticut, 
which the king readily granted ; and, on the 20th 
of April, 1662, the royal seal was set to the char- 
ter, which is stili preserved in the office of the sec 
retary of state in Hartford, with remnants of the im- 
pression of the great seal of England on green wax. 
The following persons are named as the patentees : 
John Winthrop, John Mason, Samuel Wyllys, Hen- 
ry Clarke, Matthew Allen, John Tapping, Nathan 
Gould, Richard Treat, Richard Lord, Henry Wol- 
cott, John Talcott, Daniel Clarke, John Ogden, 
Thomas Wells, Obadiah Bruen, John Clark, An- 
thony Hawkins, John Deming, and Matthew Can- 
field. The title given to this corporation was 
<k The Governor and Company of the English Col- 
ony of Connecticut in New-England in America;" 
and it embraced all lands included in the original 
patent, and, among the rest, that of New-Haven 
colony. 

Among other privileges, it ordained two annual 
assemblies ; one on the second Thursday in May, 
and the other on the second Thursday in October, 
consisting of the governor, deputy-governor, and 
twelve assistants, with two deputies from each 
town or city ; to make laws, array troops for de- 
fence, and exercise martial law when necessary. 
The privilege of enjoying " all the privileges of 
free and natural subjects within the realm of Eng- 
land" was also granted ; and the clause conferring 
it proved a most important one many years after, 
when the violation of its principles by King George 
led the way to the independence of our country. 

The year 1662 witnessed much commotion 
among the people of New-Haven, who were little 



1662.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 155 

disposed to reconcile themselves to the govern- 
ment of Charles ; and several of the magistrates 
took the conditional oaths. In Connecticut the 
election was held after the arrival of the charter ; 
and Mr. Winthrop was chosen governor, Mr. Ma- 
son deputy. governor, Mr. Talcott treasurer, and 
Mr. John Clark secretary. An oath was required 
of freemen, binding them to the faithful discharge 
of their duty. 

The General Assembly confirmed the existing 
officers, the laws of the colony, and the seal. They 
had now the unpleasant duty to perform of disown, 
ing New-Haven as a colony, and to absorb it in 
their own. Some of the inhabitants of Guilford, 
Southold, Stamford, and Greenwich were received 
under the protection and privileges of the common, 
wealth, on their application. The Dutch governor 
was warned not to interfere with any towns under 
its jurisdiction. Notice was given to the people of 
Winchester that they were within it ; and those of 
Mystic and Pawcatuck were ordered to manage all 
their affairs according to the laws of Connecticut. 
A court was formed at Southold, consisting of Cap. 
tain John Youngs and the justices of South and 
East Hampton ; and all the other English towns 
there were brought under Connecticut. 

The assembly sent Messrs. Allen, Wyllys, Stone, 
and Hooker to treat with their friends at New-Ha- 
ven concerning the union required by the charter. 
This was opposed at a meeting of the freemen of 
New-Haven by Mr. Davenport, who, after stating 
his reasons, left it to be decided by others. After 
a full discussion, the freemen agreed that a reply 
should be drawn up, bearing testimony against the 



156 CONTEST WITH NEW-HAVEN. [1663. 

great sin of Connecticut in acting so contrary to 
righteousness, amity, and peace, desiring a post- 
ponement until the return of Mr. Winthrop, and 
saying they must consult their confederates before 
they could act. Such a reply was sent : but Con. 
necticut made no rejoinder, only appointing another 
committee of conference, which found the people 
opposed to any arrangement. It seemed that the 
people of New-Haven counted, with good reason 
on the favourable influence of Mr. Winthrop : foi 
he wrote to Connecticut on the 3d of March, 1663, 
that the union with New-Haven ought to be made 
with her full consent ; and that he had bound him- 
self, before he took out the charter, that she should 
suffer no injury therefrom. 

Yet Connecticut persisted, and required the sub- 
mission of Westchester and the Narraganset coun- 
try ; and the assembly in August, 1663, appointed 
the deputy-governor and three men to treat with 
several of the New-Haven towns, and, if necessary, 
to read the charter publicly in New-Haven, and de- 
mand her submission. 

When the commissioners of the United Colonies 
met, on the 3d of September, 1663, complaints 
against Connecticut were presented from New- 
Haven and from Governor Stuyvesandt in person. 
They declared that it would violate one of the ar- 
ticles of confederation to combine two of the colo- 
nies into one without the consent of all. The As- 
sembly of Connecticut soon after appointed another 
committee to treat with New-Haven in an amica- 
ble spirit, received the towns on the western end 
of Long Island under their jurisdiction, and au- 
thorized Thomas Pell to purchase of the Indians 



1663.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 157 

the land between Westchester and Hudson to 
be added to that town. The settlement of Ham. 
monassett was begun this year. It was afterward 
named Kenilworth, and still later Killingworth. 

The General Court of New-Haven was in ses« 
sion at the same time ; and, having been informed 
that the committee had requested Connecticut, since 
the decision of the commissioners, to recall her de- 
mands, saying that it would only promote a favour- 
able treaty, and had received no answer, it was re- 
solved, " That no treaty be made by this colony 
with Connecticut before such acts of power exerted 
by them upon any of our towns be revoked and re- 
called, according to the Hon. Mr. Winthrop's let- 
ter engaging the same, the commissioners' deter- 
mination, and our frequent desires." 

The court ordered also, that the property of per- 
sons refusing to pay taxes should be seized, but that 
no blood should be shed by any officer unless in 
self-defence ; and that a petition for relief from 
Connecticut should be sent to the king. A fast 
was appointed, and prayers offered for Divine care 
and direction. The state of the colony was so de. 
pressed, that the governor's salary was reduced to 
£40, and the deputy-governor's to £10. Things 
assumed a threatening aspect in Guilford in the 
winter, when John Rossiter, who had got two 
Connecticut magistrates, a constable, and some 
others to accompany him, fired guns near the 
town, and alarmed the inhabitants. Governor 
Leet sent for assistance, and was able, by persua- 
sion, to prevent serious difficulty ; and urged on 
the court, which he called together, to suspend the 
O 



158 COL. NICHOLS TAKES MANAHADOES. [1664. 

law requiring distraint for taxes. They drew up 
a temperate but forcible remonstrance. 

This year the colonies were forbidden to receive 
goods from any port not belonging to Great Britain, 
so that nominally both the export and the import 
trade were cut off. New-England, however, still 
persisted in setting at naught the act of 1651, and 
prosecuting commerce wherever she pleased. The 
object avowed by the present act was to keep the 
colonies in firmer dependance of England. 

At the General Court of New-Haven, held in 
May, 1664, the principal officers were re-elected : 
but little business was done. News was soon re- 
ceived of a new patent granted by the king on the 
12th of March, giving to his brother, the Duke of 
York, " all that part of the main land of New-Eng- 
land" beginning at St. Croix, and extending to 
Pemaquid, up that river to its source, and thence 
to the river Kembequin to Canada ; and also Long 
Island, and the " Narrow Highgansets" (Narragan- 
set) " abutting upon the main land between the two 
rivers there called or known by the several names 
of Connecticut and Hudson's rivers, and all the 
land from the west side of Connecticut River to 
the east side of Delaware Bay," and also the isl- 
ands of Nantucket, Martha's Vineyard, &c. 

The colonies had now a subject of great com- 
mon interest to divert their attention from their 
immediate and less alarming dissensions : for the 
king had authorized the despatch of a squadron of 
three or four ships of war against the Dutch pos. 
sessions in their neighbourhood ; and Colonel Rich- 
ard Nichols arrived in them at Boston on the 
23d of July, with an army. He was accompanied 



1664.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 159 

by George Cartwright, Esq., Sir Robert Carr, and 
Samuel Maverick, Esq., who, with himself, had 
been clothed with extraordinary powers, to deter, 
mine all controversies in the colonies. He made 
a requisition on the colonies for troops, wrote to 
Governor Winthrop and others to join him on Long 
Island, and then sailed for Manahadoes. He reach- 
ed there in time to demand Governor Stuyvesandt 
to surrender the place on the 20th of August ; and 
offered to secure life, liberty, and property to the 
inhabitants. The Dutch were in a condition very 
unfavourable for defence, being unprepared and 
disunited. Their governor was first informed of 
the expedition on the 8th of July, and exerted him- 
self to prepare for resistance. He refused to sur- 
render, saying the English claim was unjust : but 
the people were differently affected, and wished to 
know the terms offered by the English. The gov- 
ernor tore the letter of Colonel Nicholson in a pas- 
sion, and the people protested against his conduct. 
Preparations were then made to send troops 
from the colonies and Long Island, as well as to 
batter the town ; and the governor at length sur- 
rendered, on condition that the people should enjoy 
their religious rights, and become British subjects. 
The city was then named New-York, in honour of 
the Duke of York. Carteret soon sailed up to Fort 
Aurania, took it, and named it Albany, which was 
one of the ducal titles of the Duke of York; while 
Sir Robert Carr went with a part of the naval force 
to Delaware Bay, and received the submission of 
the Dutch and Swedes settled there on the 1st of 
October. This was the end of the troubles arising 
from Henry Hudson's right of discovery, which he 



160 the king's commissioners. [1G64. 

had sold to Holland, and thus gave them a pretext 
to claim this part of America. The Dutch acted 
in good faith, and became peaceable subjects of 
Great Britain. 



CHAPTER XX. 1664. 

Jealousy of the King's Commissioners prevails in the Colonies. 
—The Union of New-Haven with Connecticut urged and ef- 
fected.— The Boundaries of Connecticut on the South and 
West determined. — County Courts and a Superior Court es- 
tablished.— Arbitrary Measures of the King's Commissioners. 
— The King's Colony formed by them. — New-York retaken 
by a Dutch Fleet. — The Troops of Connecticut raised to re- 
pel an expected Invasion — Her Jurisdiction extended to Nar- 
raganset and the east End of Long Island. 

In the mean time, the people of New-England, 
ever jealous of the designs of ambitious rulers, had 
seen enough of the English commissioners to take 
alarm. They had so conducted themselves while 
in Boston, that it was believed they would deprive 
the colonies of their liberty after the reduction of 
the Manahadoes. Mr. Whiting was sent to urge 
on New-Haven an immediate union with Connec- 
ticut ; and the court, which met forthwith, resolved 
to submit until the meeting of the commissioners. 
This was opposed by many of the people : but the 
commissioners, who met at Hartford in September, 
urged the union, and otFered to allow the votes of 
four of the six commissioners to have the same 
binding force which six of the eight had before, 



1664.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 161 

The General Court of New-Haven, however, were 
unable to come to any conclusion when they met 
in September, chiefly through the opposition made 
by Mr. Davenport and Mr. Pierson of Branford. 
They objected to the baptism of the infant children 
not in full communion with the church, and to the 
admission of any but church members to the priv- 
ileges of freemen, both which were allowed in Con- 
necticut. Besides, New-Haven had been founded 
for an independent colony, on their favourite prin- 
ciples, at great labour and sacrifices ; and its in- 
dependence had been fully acknowledged ; and they 
could not merge it in another without reluctance. 

At the October meeting of the General Court of 
Connecticut, they had to take several important 
measures ; and, among others, to prevent the Eng- 
lish commissioners from deciding in favour of a pe- 
tition to his majesty, from the Duke and Duchess 
of Hamilton, for the tract granted to their father in 
1635, which had been referred to them by King 
Charles the Second. They presented to the com- 
missioners 500 bushels of corn ; sent to settle the 
boundaries with Massachusetts and Rhode Island ; 
and proceeded to receive as much of the New-Ha- 
ven territory under their jurisdiction as they peace- 
ably could, appointing magistrates in it, and disa- 
vowing prosecutions under the laws of that govern- 
ment. 

The king's commissioners, after a full hearing, 
determined that the southern boundary of Connec- 
ticut was the sea (Long Island Sound), and its west- 
ern Mamaroneck River, and a line drawn north- 
northwest from the head of salt water in it to Mas- 
2 



162 commissioners' requisitions. [1665. 

sachusetts. The territory south and west of these 
lines was declared to belong to the Duke of York. 

On the 13th of December, 1664, the General Court 
of New-Haven met, with the freemen and other in- 
habitants, when it was unanimously agreed, that, 
without justifying Connecticut, or having any hand 
in breaking the confederation, in loyalty to the 
king, they would submit to be put under Connecti- 
cut colony as soon as they should receive authentic 
evidence that such was his majesty's pleasure, but 
with a salvo jure of former rights and claims. A 
committee was appointed in 1665 to consummate 
the union. The Connecticut Assembly expressed 
very friendly views in a conciliatory manner, de- 
clared that all offensive acts under the authority oi 
New. Haven should be forgotten, and resolved that 
the following persons should stand in the nomina- 
tion for magistrates : William Leet, William Jones, 
Benjamin Fenn, Matthew Gilbert, Jasper Crane, 
Alexander Bryan, Mr. Law, and Robert Treat. 

The king's commissioners presented four requi- 
sitions : requiring the oath of allegiance to be taken 
by the people, and "that the administration of jus- 
tice be in his majesty's name ;" " that all men of 
competent estates and civil conversation" be allow- 
ed to become freemen, and eligible to offices ; " that 
all persons of civil lives may enjoy liberty of con- 
science, so far as might be, without endangering 
public peace or the maintenance of ministers ;" 
and that all laws derogatory to his majesty be al- 
tered or annulled. With these the Assembly com- 
plied : but it is remarkable that the writs were from 
that time made out merely " in his majesty's name," 
without mentioning it or his titles. 



1665.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 163 

The king's commissioners, about this time, gave 
a negative answer to the petition of the Duke of 
Hamilton, in which they enumerated the grounds 
on which the people of Connecticut had a good 
claim to that colony. 

The union between Connecticut and New-Haven 
was consummated at the general election at Hart- 
ford on the 11th of May, 1665. Mr. Winthrop 
was elected governor, Mr. Mason deputy-governor, 
Messrs. Allen, Wyllys, Gould, Talcott, Wolcott, 
Allen, Sherman, Richards, Leet, Jones, Fenn, and 
Crane magistrates. Mr. Talcott was treasurer, 
and Mr. Clark secretary. A proper proportion of 
the magistrates was from New-Haven colony, and 
harmony prevailed. Hastings and Rye were uni- 
ted in one plantation ; and county courts were first 
formed by that name at this session. Two were 
to be held annually in New-Haven, in June and 
November, consisting of five judges, two magis- 
trates, and three justices ; and one was to be held 
at New- London, which was to form a distinct coun- 
ty in October. 

At the next session in October, such a court 
was appointed at Hartford, instead of the quarterly 
courts, to meet in March and September, and to 
have cognizance of all cases except life, limb, and 
banishment. A jury was to be empannelled in cases 
of more than twenty shillings. A superior court 
was also appointed, to meet on the Tuesdays before 
the sessions of the General Assembly, to consist of 
eight magistrates, to have a jury, and to try all 
cases of appeal from county courts, and actions of 
life, limb, and banishment. 

In consequence of dissatisfaction with the union, 



164 ACTS OF THE COMMISSIONERS. [1665. 

Mr. Pierson, of Branford, and most of his congre- 
gation, removed to Newark in New-Jersey this 
year, taking the records of the town and church, 
and almost depopulating the place. It was not re- 
incorporated until 1685. 

The union undoubtedly proved highly beneficial 
to New-Haven : but it is to be regretted that Con- 
necticut showed a spirit in forcing it, almost as 
much opposed to some of the principles of the con- 
federacy as the proceedings of Massachusetts, of 
which they had so much complained. 

Apprehensions were entertained this year of an 
attack from the Dutch, war having been proclaim- 
ed by England against Holland ; but Admiral De 
Ruyter, who had been ordered to visit New-York 
with a fleet, did not proceed on that enterprise. A 
day of thanksgiving was therefore observed in the 
colonies in November. 

We have now arrived at a period in which the 
arbitrary intentions of the king's commissioners be- 
gan to be displayed in actions. Governor Nich- 
ols had taken up his residence at New- York : but 
the others began to exercise their authority at Bos- 
ton, by making requisitions inimical to the charter 
and the rights of conscience. Having listened to 
the complaints of the Narragansets, without giving 
a hearing to Connecticut, they decided that a new 
colony should be formed, to be called the King's 
Colony, to extend west to Pawcatuck River, and 
north to Massachusetts ; and forbade the settlers 
in it to remain, and any jurisdiction except their 
own to be exercised within its limits. The deeds 
given by the Indians to the Rhode Islanders and 
Captain Atherton they declared null ; and then re- 
turned to Boston, farther to vex Massachusetts. 



1669.J HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 165 

They undertook to protect criminals condemned 
by the courts , called magistrates to account for 
proceedings held according to law ; and demanded 
that all persons should be admitted to the Lord's 
Supper who were orthodox, and of competent knowl- 
edge and civil lives, and that their children should 
be allowed to be baptized. These were measures 
to which Massachusetts could not submit; and a 
remonstrance was sent to the king, which, through 
the misrepresentations made by his commissioners, 
produced only an unfavourable effect. His majes- 
ty sent a letter to Connecticut, expressing his ap- 
probation of her proceedings : but, while no decis- 
ion was given on the claim of the Duke of Hamil- 
ton against Massachusetts, he spoke with severity 
of recent measures in that colony. 

In 1667, Governor Winthrop declined a re-elec- 
tion, but was persuaded to continue in his office 
by the urgency of his friends. His salary was 
raised to £110. 

In the year 1669, the New-England Indians en- 
gaged in a great military enterprise against the 
Mohawks or Five Nations. They raised an army 
of 600 or 700 men, under a principal chief of the 
Massachusetts Indians, named Chickatawbut, or Jo- 
siah, and marched for the West, beyond the river 
Hudson. The Rev. Mr. Eliot and Mr. Gookin, of 
Massachusetts, used every exertion to dissuade the 
Christian or praying Indians from accompanying 
them, and with such success that only five joined 
the expedition. The army was soon in the Mo- 
nawk territory, and laid siege to one of the forts of 
that tribe : but, after a few days, their provisions 
and ammunition being spent, and sickness having 



166 RHODE ISLAND BOUNDARY. [1669. 

appeared in their camp, they began their retreat.. 
The Mohawks pursued : but were resisted with 
great bravery. They, however, killed about 50, 
and, among others, Chickatawbut himself, driving 
the invaders back to their own country. The fall- 
en chief is said to have been " a wise and stout man 
of middle age, but a very vicious person." This 
was the last general battle fought between the New. 
England Indians and the Mohawks. 

William Leet, Esq., was chosen deputy-govern- 
or, and Major Mason, after serving in that office a 
long time, was made a magistrate. In consequence 
of the great population of the colony, the Assembly 
resolved this year that the freemen might meet at 
Hartford on the second Thursday of May, either in 
person or by proxy, and consummate the election 
of governor and other officers. Regulations were 
also adopted for the freemen's meetings. 

A committee was appointed by the Assembly to 
settle the long-disputed boundary with Rhode Isl- 
and ; and, as they were unable to come to a deter- 
mination with the gentlemen from that colony in a 
meeting held at New-London, they went into the 
disputed territory under their instructions, and de- 
manded the submission of the people. The case, 
however, was a complicated one. The patent of 
Lord Say-and-Seal and others had extended the 
colony to Narraganset Bay and River : but the ar- 
bitrators in England, to whom the subject had been 
referred in 1663, by Mr. Winthrop and Mr. Clark, 
the agent of Rhode Island, had agreed to name 
Pawcatuck River Narragance or Narraganset, al- 
though it had no bay. The boundary, however, 
remained unsettled more than 60 years. 



1672.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 167 

Governor Winthrop still wished to resign his of- 
fice : but, by great exertions, he was prevailed on 
to hold it, and remained at the head of the colony 
till his death. His salary was raised to £150 ; and 
he received presents of several tracts of land from 
the Assembly at different times. 

In 1672, another of the most conspicuous of the 
first planters closed his public services. This was 
Major John Mason, who declined a re-election as 
deputy-governor on account of his advanced age 
and infirmities. Mr. John Nash was chosen in his 
place. 

Major Mason had a military training for some 
time under Sir Thomas Fairfax in the Dutch Neth- 
erlands, and accompanied the Rev. Mr. Warham 
and his company to New-England in 1631. In 
1636 he joined the first planters of Windsor. He 
was commander of the first military expedition in 
which the infant colony of Connecticut engaged, 
viz., that against the Pequods ; and, although he 
recommended a plan of operations different from 
that proposed by the court, which was at first pre- 
ferred by his officers, he persuaded the latter to 
adopt his own, and came off with success, as we 
have before related. 

Major Mason was for a long time at the head of 
the army of the colony. He is spoken of as a man 
of uncommon size, of great bravery, skill, and ac- 
tivity in military affairs, strict, moral, and very pru- 
dent. He was chosen a magistrate in 1642, and 
continued to be one till 1660, when he was elected 
deputy-governor. He took up his residence at 
Saybrook, at the request of the people, in 1647, for 
the defence of the place ; and removed to Norwich 



168 NEW-YORK TAKEN BY THE DLTCH. [1673. 

in 1659, where he died in 1672 or '3, in the sev- 
enty-third year of his age. 

The first edition of the Connecticut code of laws 
was printed this year at Cambridge, Mass., forming 
a small folio volume of above 60 pages. The in- 
troduction was written in a very serious and reli- 
gious tone, distinctly avowing that the object of the 
planters was the service and glory of God. It is 
addressed " To all our beloved brethren and neigh- 
bours, the inhabitants of Connecticut ;" and de- 
clares that those " who settled these foundations," 
did it for the maintaining of " religion according 
to the Gospel of our Lord Jesus." which " ought to 
be the endeavour of all those that shall succeed, to 
uphold and encourage to all generations." Every 
family in the colony was required by the Assembly 
to possess one of these law-books. 

In the year 1673 Richard Smith was appointed 
a commissioner at Narraganset, and made a ma- 
gistrate for that country. A court of commission- 
ers was appointed there, and he was made chief 
judge, with cognizance in cases not exceeding 
j£20 : those over 40 shillings being tried by a jury. 

Again the fear of bloodshed arose in the colonies, 
in consequence of the war declared by England 
against Holland in the preceding year; and a 
troop of horse was ordered to be raised in each 
county. A small Dutch fleet arrived at New-York 
on the 30th of July, 1673, commanded by commo- 
dores Everste and Benkes ; and, on coming into 
the bay, Manning, the commander of the fort and 
island, surrendered them without resistance. New- 
York and New-Jersey readily submitted. The 
Dutch took a Connecticut vessel in the tSound. 



1674.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 169 

The assembly met, and ordered that the troops 
(which amounted to 1570, and 500 dragoons) should 
be ready for service ; and sent a letter to the Dutch 
commodores to inquire what they intended to do, 
and to say that Connecticut would be faithful to 
her trust, which was to protect New- York. A 
committee of war was also appointed. 

A reply was soon returned by the Dutch com- 
manders, who said they should obey their orders 
in doing all the harm they could to the enemies of 
their country ; and endeavour to reduce the Long 
Island towns, if they should not obey their sum- 
mons to submit. The committee, however, were 
so energetic in sending immediate aid to Long 
Island, that no attempt was made upon it ; and, 
although an invasion of Connecticut was appre- 
hended, the Dutch did not think proper to approach 
that territory : all the troops being ready to march 
at half an hour's warning. The Long Island towns 
had been taken under the jurisdiction of Connecti- 
cut the preceding October, at their request. 

The same was done with Narraganset in 1674, 
while a court was formed at Stonington to prevent 
the people there from living " in dissolute practi- 
ces, to the dishonour of God, and to the scandali- 
zing of the very heathens." 

New-England was supposed to contain at this 
time about 120,000 souls, 16,000 of whom were able 
to bear arms. The militia of Connecticut amounted 
to 2070 men. In all New-England, as we learn 
from a contemporary writer, there were five iron* 
works, but no guns were cast. There were fifteen 
merchants, worth about £50,000, or £500 apiece. 
No house had above twenty rooms ; and not twenty 
P 



170 SIR EDMUND ANDROSS. [1675 

in Boston ten rooms each. The worst cottages 
had lofts. There were no beggars. Not three 
persons were put to death annually. There were 
no musicians by trade. A dancing-school had been 
set up, but was promptly put down. A fencing- 
school, however, was allowed. All cordage, sail- 
cloth, and nets came from England. No cloth was 
made worth four shillings a yard ; and no linen 
above 2*. 6d. " No alum, copperas, nor salt was 
made by their sun." 



CHAPTER XXI. 

A new Patent granted to the Duke of York, embracing the 
Territory of the Colony west of Connecticut River.— Sir Ed- 
mund Andross arrives as Governor of the Duke's Possessions. 
— Beginning of Philip's War. — Andross goes to Saybrook with 
Troops, and demands the Surrender of the Fort. — Manfully 
repelled by Captain Bull. 

The year 1675 brought new alarm and difficulty 
upon New-England, in which Connecticut had to 
endure her share. News arrived from England 
that the Duke of York, the king's brother, not sat- 
isfied with the territory assigned him by the com- 
missioners, had received from his majesty a new 
patent, dated June 4th, 1674, embracing the same 
territory as the former. He immediately gave to 
a Major Andross a commission constituting him 
the governor of New-York, and all his territories 
in those parts. It is remarked of this man by Mr. 
Smith, in his history of New. York, that " he knew 



1675.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 171 

no law but the will of his master ; and Kirk and 
Jeffries were not fitter instruments than he to exe- 
cute the despotic projects of James the Second." 
It may be presumed that Charles was well inclined 
to see the institutions and designs of the Pilgrims 
thwarted, or at least controlled ; and the people of 
Connecticut were not disposed to submit to op- 
pression, especially from that race of kings. Yet 
what could they do ? The duke once more laid 
claim to the chief part of the colony, viz., from 
New- York to the western bank of the Connecticut 
River ; and Andross was preparing to bring it un- 
der his authority. As the master had set at naught 
all reason in instituting such pretensions, what jus- 
tice or moderation, was to be expected from the 
servant, especially as he had all the common mo- 
tives of bad men to counteract the designs of the 
good ? In case of opposition, the colony had no- 
thing better to expect from him than an invasion. 

But by this time things were in preparation for 
the most terrible Indian war that New-England 
ever knew. It will be remembered that Massa- 
soit, sachem of a Narraganset tribe, befriended 
the Plymouth and Massachusetts settlers from the 
first, and remained their faithful ally till his death. 
His two sons, Alexander and Philip (as they were 
named by the English), had sworn attachment to 
them : but the latter possessed a spirit of enmity 
to the white intruders, as the disaffected Indians 
regarded them ; and it was now discovered that 
he had been for some time plotting a sudden and 
general massacre in all the settlements. It is to 
be borne in mind that a party had, ere this, arisen 
among the Indians, to which the mass of the sav- 



172 MURDER OF SAUSAMAN. [1675. 

ages were greatly opposed. These were the Pray- 
ing Indians, as they were called : that is, those who 
had been converted to Christianity through the ex- 
ertions of Eliot, the Indian apostle, and his associ- 
ates. Most of these had been collected in settle- 
ments, about thirteen of which were placed in a 
line in advance of the older towns of Massachu- 
setts colony. Eliot had successfully trained them 
to agriculture, and many of the religious, social, 
and civil habits of the English ; and there was a 
fair prospect of their becoming a permanent, civil- 
ized, and Christian people. Already they had 
some magistrates of their own race ; and enough 
had been done to prove that the Aborigines are as 
susceptible as any other men of speedy improve- 
ment by means of Christianity. These interest- 
ing people, however, had violent enemies among 
the pagan Indians, being regarded both as allies 
of the English and as deserters from themselves. 
They necessarily kept up some intercourse with 
each other ; and this, in existing circumstances, 
tended to increase the enmity of the latter, who 
knew themselves to be worthy of suspicion. 

One of the Christian Indians, named Sausaman, 
having become acquainted with the plots of the pa- 
gans, made them known to the English at Massa- 
chusetts. Philip employed some of his Wampano- 
ags (of which tribe of the Narragansets he was the 
chief) to murder Sausaman ; and, although his body 
was sunk in a pond under the ice, the murderers 
were found and executed. This probably hasten- 
ed the breaking out of the insurrection. On the 
20th of June Swanzey was attacked, and afterward 
other towns were assaulted, numbers of people were 



1675.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 173 

killed, and other tribes in different parts of New- 
England showed signs of hostility. Troops were 
sent into Philip's country (near Bristol, R. I.): but 
he had hastily fled, burning and murdering on his 
way. 

Governor Winthrop was at this time attending 
a meeting of the commissioners at Boston ; and 
the council sent troops to Stonington, to defend the 
neighbourhood from the Indians. 

Just then it was ascertained that another en- 
emy was about to assail Connecticut from a differ- 
ent quarter : for Andross was reported to be com- 
ing down the Sound with armed ships, to enforce his 
authority, and occupy the territory which he claim- 
ed for the duke. Detachments of militia were hur- 
ried to Saybrook and New-London : the former 
under the command of Captain Thomas Bull, of 
Hartford, a man of undaunted spirit. Before he 
reached his place of destination, the people of Say- 
brook, on the eighth or ninth of July, descried the 
squadron of Andross ; and, having ascertained his 
hostile designs, after a little hesitation, in conse- 
quence of having received neither orders nor warn- 
ing, they began to make active preparations for de- 
fence. At this moment the intrepid Captain Bull 
arrived with his men. For some reason, Andross 
delayed until the 11th, and then brought up several 
armed sloops before the fort, and ordered the peo- 
ple to surrender both it and the town. This, how- 
ever, Captain Bull refused to obey ; and, display- 
ing the king's flag, he paraded his men, and stood 
ready for action. Andross quietly maintained his 
position until the next day. 

On the 9th the Assembly had met at Hartford ; 
P2 



174 CAPT. BULL REPELS ANDROSS. [1675. 

and they drew up a protest against Andross, say- 
ing that, at that juncture, when the Indians were 
devastating and murdering in Plymouth colony, 
and threatening the others, in faithfulness to his 
majesty, and in obedience to his commands in their 
charter, they could do no less than protest against 
him and his abettors as disturbers of the common- 
wealth. They warned "the said Major Andross" 
to beware, as they should lay to his charge all the 
blood that might be shed by him and by the sav- 
ages encouraged by him ; and required the people 
to aid in resisting him, as they should answer the 
contrary at their peril. They concluded with the 
usual words, " God save the King." This protest 
was sent by express to Captain Bull, with orders 
to propose to Andross a reference of the dispute to 
commissioners. 

When the messenger reached Saybrook, he found 
the English major about to land with his officers, 
having received permission to do so. Captain 
Bull proposed a reference as he was directed : but 
this was refused ; and Andross ordered the Duke 
of York's patent to be read, as well as his own 
commission. The captain commanded him to de- 
sist, in the name of the king ; and, seeing that he 
was disposed to proceed, repeated his order with 
such a resolute air that it was obeyed. The cap- 
tain then read to him the Assembly's protest. An- 
dross, addressing himself to the captain, inquired 
his name. 

" My name is Bull, sir," replied the captain. 
" Bull !" said he : " it is a pity your horns are not 
tipped with silver." If by this expression he meant 
to convey the idea that the captain might have been 



1675.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 175 

bribed to neglect his duty, he proved himself no less 
misjudging than base : for the men who enjoyed 
the public confidence in Connecticut attained it by 
their virtue and intelligence, and, therefore, were 
incorruptible. Andross, finding the people as well 
as the government determined to oppose him, said 
he should take no more measures against the col- 
ony ; and, returning to his vessels, steered for Long 
Island. 

The General Assembly noticed this flagrant of- 
fence by publishing a resolution, which stated that 
John Winthrop and James Richards, Esqs., or ei- 
ther of them, on their intended visit to England, 
would take with them the documents relating to this 
affair, and furnish their explanation. 

To return to the Indians. Commissioners were 
sent by the colonies into the Narraganset country 
to make a treaty with them ; and one was signed 
on the 15th of July by the Sunk Squaw and the six 
principal sachems. It promised perpetual peace, 
the restoration of stolen goods and fugitives, war 
against Philip and his men, and the payment of 40 
^oats to any Indian who would bring him in alive, 
t>. twenty for his head, and two coats for every sub- 
ject of Philip, or one for the head of each. But 
this treaty was not much to be relied on, having 
been made in the presence of the army. 

An attempt was now made to seize Philip on 
Pocasset Neck, where he and his followers had re- 
treated to the forest and swamps : but, after a fruit- 
less skirmish, the English injudiciiusly retired, 
leaving only a few soldiers to watch the isthmus ; 
and the Indians had skill enough to escape, by what 
means is a problem to this day. No certain trace 



176 ATTACK ON SPRINGFIELD. [1675. 

of Philip could be found for some time : but he con- 
tinued to be very active in inciting the different 
tribes to hostility ; and many of the more exposed 
settlements were so closely watched by his allies, 
that many persons were surprised and captured, or 
killed, even when they strayed but a short distance 
from home. In some instances the Indians ap- 
peared in great numbers ; and several towns were 
besieged, or assaulted and burned. Connecticut 
happily suffered nothing on her own soil : for no 
part of it became a seat of war. Her inhabitants, 
however, had a share in the hazards, alarm, ex- 
pense, and risks of soldiers. The savages, at dif- 
ferent times, attacked Brookfield, Hadley, Hatfield, 
Northfield, Springfield, and Deerfield, all in Massa- 
chusetts, but some of which had been settled from 
Connecticut ; and the last two were almost entirely 
burned. The most severe calamity which befell the 
colonists was the battle of Bloody Brook : for there 
about 100 men, the flower of the county of Essex, 
Massachusetts, were cut off by a body of 700 or 800 
Indians, who laid an ambush for them while they 
were on their way from the ruins of Deerfield, with 
wagon-loads of grain that had been left at the deser- 
tion of the ruined settlement. 

The attack on Springfield displayed the charac- 
teristic subtlety of the Indians. Those in the vi- 
cinity had lived in peace and harmony with the 
settlers about forty years, but they admitted about 
300 of Philip's warriors into their fort one night, 
and would probably have taken the town by sur- 
prise, had not a faithful Windsor Indian, named 
Toto, given a seasonable alarm at that place. 
Messengers were immediately despatched to Ma- 



1675.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 177 

jor Treat at Westfield, to hasten on with the Con- 
necticut troops under his command, and to Spring- 
field, to give warning to the inhabitants. Tradi- 
tion says that Soto, on his important errand, pass- 
ed at night through a large encampment of Indians, 
sagaciously eluding their vigilance by lying down 
as if one of their number, and pretending to sleep, 
when afraid of their observation. 

The people of Springfield would not suspect their 
Indians of treachery : but Lieutenant Cooper, the 
commander of the post, with another man, having 
imprudently ridden to the fort, were fired upon, and 
the latter was killed. The former, however, lived 
to ride back to town, and apprized the incredulous 
iv: Habitants of their actual danger. The savages 
immediately attacked the town, began to set fire to 
the houses and barns, and were about to slaughter 
the terrified inhabitants, who were entirely unpre- 
pared and in great consternation : but Major Treat 
arrived in time to save almost all the habitations, 
except thirty, and the lives of the people, as he 
soon drove the enemy away. Mr. Pelatiah Glo- 
ver, the minister, lost his house and a valuable li- 
brary. 

The Assembly of Connecticut met on the 14th 
of October, and appointed Major Treat commander 
of the troops of the colony, and returned him thanks 
for his useful services on Long Island, in Massa- 
chusetts, and at Springfield. 

There was soon an alarm of Indians at Norwich, 
and Major Treat set out for that place : but he was 
ordered back, and sent to Northampton, as the dan- 
ger was still greater in that vicinity; and several of 
the neighbouring towns were furnished with gar- 



178 TROOPS RAISED. [1675. 

risons. On the 19th of October he was called to 
Hadley by the desperate state to which the inhab- 
itants were reduced by about 800 Indians, who as- 
sailed the town on all sides at once. By their own 
exertions and the aid of their friends, the Hadley 
people were protected, and the enemy repulsed with 
such loss that they were discouraged in their hopes 
of effecting anything in that part of the country, 
and returned to Narraganset. 

It is reported that, in the midst of the fight at 
Hadley, and at a moment when the savages were 
gaining ground, a stranger of a commanding as- 
pect appeared among the terrified people, and fell 
upon the Indians with such spirit and skill that he 
checked them in their advance, and so encouraged 
the defenders that they followed him and expelled 
them from the town. On looking round for him 
after the fight, he was not to be found ; and it was 
subsequently ascertained that he was one of the 
regicide judges, General GofFe, who was living 
concealed in the house of one of the principal in- 
habitants, and whom the common danger had drawn 
from his hiding-place, and excited again to deeds 
of valour. 

The General Assembly, in consequence of the in- 
telligence that the Indians were prepared to attack 
most of the frontier towns of Connecticut, ordered 
that 60 dragoons should be raised in every county, 
fully accoutred. Captain Avery was appointed to 
command 40 men from New- London, Stonington, 
and Lyme, with as many Pequods as he should 
think proper ; and Captain John Mason 20 Eng- 
lishmen and the Mohegans, for the defence of the 
eastern parts; while 120 dragoons were placed un- 



1675.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 179 

der Major Treat, for the general defence of the 
colony. Every town was required to be fortified, 
and provided with the best places of protection 
they could make, to which the women and chil- 
dren were to retreat on the first alarm ; and fee- 
ble persons near the frontiers, unable to defend 
themselves, were advised to remove to places of 
greater security. 

But still greater sufferings were threatened as 
the spring approached : for, as the commissioners 
ascertained, the Narragansets proved faithless to 
their late treaty, harboured the fugitive enemy, and 
had some wounded young men of their own tribe 
returning from the scenes of warfare. The Nar- 
ragansets alone could muster about 2000 warriors, 
and it was believed that they had about 1000 mus- 
kets. Of course the colonies had melancholy pros- 
pects for the next campaign, which would commence 
with the spring : for how could they resist such a 
force, added to the greater number which Philip 
might incite against them ? 

In the numbers here estimated, it is pleasing to 
say, we are not to include Ninigrate nor his men : 
for he at length cast off his double dealing and 
took the side of the English, which he faithfully 
kept through the war 



180 A FAST OBSERVED. [1675, 



CHAPTER XXII. 

Expedition of the United Colonies against the Narragansets.— - 
Situation of the Fort.— They destroy it, with a great Slaughter 
of the Indians. — Continuance of Hostilities. — Measures for 
Defence and Resistance. — Settlements destroyed. — Expedi- 
tions cut off. — Capture and Death of Canonchet> 

On the 12th of September, the commissioners 
gave orders for the raising of 1000 men to attack 
the Narragansets. Massachusetts furnished six. 
companies and a troop of horsemen, all amounting 
to 527 men, under Major Appleton ; Plymouth 
158, under Major Bradford and Captain Gorham ; 
and Connecticut, although her proportion was only 
315 men, sent 300 Englishmen, and 150 Pequods 
and friendly Indians, under Major Treat, in five 
companies, under Captains Seely, Gallup, Masons 
Watts, and Marshall. The whole of these forces 
were placed under the command of Josiah Wins- 
low, Esq., as commander-in-chief. The Connecti- 
cut troops were ordered to rendezvous at New- 
London by the 10th of December, and there to 
await the commands of Mr. Winslow. 

The commissioners appointed a fast for the 2d 
of December, saying that " it was an humbling 
providence of God that put his poor people to be 
meditating a matter of war at such a season :*' for 
they knew the great hazards of sending troops on 
such an enterprise, as a single night without shel- 
ter, or one of the frequent heavy snowstorms 
would probably destroy the army. 



1675.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 181 

On the 17th of December the Connecticut troops 
left New-London, and reached Pettyquamscot, but 
found that the Indians had burned the houses and 
barns, and killed ten men, and five women and 
children. On the 18th they joined the rest of the 
army ; and that night also, though cold and stormy, 
was spent without shelter. They were now with- 
in fifteen miles of a swamp in which the Narra- 
gansets were assembled ; and in the morning, which 
was the Sabbath, they marched to attack them. 
The Massachusetts troops took the van, those of Ply- 
mouth had the centre, and the Connecticut compa- 
nies the rear. They met a party of the enemy a lit- 
tle distance from the fort, who retreated into it after 
returning their fire. Although the soldiers had 
marched without stopping till one o'clock through 
the snow, they hastened on to attack the enemy in 
their strong position. The fort was on a small 
hill rising from the swamp, surrounded by a pali- 
sade and a hedge about a rod in thickness, so that 
it seemed vain to attempt to enter it at any place 
except that by which the fugitives had entered it. 
This was a narrow opening, the only passage 
to which was by a log laid five or six feet above 
the ground, over which two persons could not go 
abreast. A blockhouse was placed in front, and 
a kind of flanker was advantageously situated for 
the enemy to fire from. 

The difficulties of the case, however, did not de- 
ter the assailants. They had reason to presume 
that they must be either victorious or destroyed ; 
and the first of the Massachusetts soldiers mount- 
ed the log and entered the fort as fast as possible. 
It proved, however, that the Indians were not un. 
Q 



182 THE NARRAGANSET FORT TAKEN. [1675. 

prepared nor afraid : for the defences were well 
manned and furnished with muskets and ammuni- 
tion. A destructive fire opened upon the sol- 
diers, and was kept up witli such energy that they 
could not endure it, and most of them retreated, 
leaving Captains Johnson and Davenport, with some 
of their men, who were cut off. A pause occurred 
while the main body was coming up, being much 
retarded by the difficult ground and the snow. The 
Connecticut troops were led by spirited officers, 
who brought them up with all possible speed, and 
led them across the log bridge into the fort in con- 
siderable numbers. Captain Marshall, however, 
was killed while upon the log. There they main- 
tained a resolute contest with the whole force of 
the savages for three hours, although Captains Gal- 
lup and Seely were among the killed, until a small 
party of them, who had their muskets loaded with 
pistol bullets, having gone round to the opposite 
side of the fort, found a spot where the palisade 
had not been placed ; and, forcing their way through 
the thick hedge, fired on the backs of the Indians. 
This soon threw them into confusion, so that they 
left the blockhouse and flanker, were driven from 
one part of the fort to another, and then fled into 
the forest. Fire was set to the wigwams, which 
soon destroyed them all, and (painful to relate !) a 
considerable number of old men, women, and chil- 
dren in them. It was supposed that the whole 
number found in the fort was nearly 4000 ; that 
300 men were killed in the fight, and many others 
wounded mortally ; and nearly an equal number 
were taken prisoners, besides 300 more women and 
children. The fugitives had to spend the following 



1675.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 183 

night in a cedar swamp, without shelter, food, or 
fire. 

The loss of the colonists was very great : six 
captains were killed, and eighty soldiers killed or 
mortally wounded. They had now undergone se- 
vere fatigue : but no shelter was offered them 
nearer than the quarters they had occupied the 
night before ; and they were compelled to set off 
immediately on their return. Just as the sun was 
setting they had taken up their wounded and dead 
companions, who amounted to about 200, and be- 
gun their march, Major Treat, it is said, being the 
last in the fort. The air was very cold, and the 
snow fell fast, so that, before they reached their 
quarters, about midnight, many had their limbs 
frozen. Four hundred were now disabled. The 
Connecticut troops suffered most in proportion to 
their numbers, bearing nearly half of the entire 
loss. Of their five captains, three were dead, and 
Mason so wounded that he died nine months after- 
ward. Eighty of the three hundred Connecticut 
troops were among the killed and wounded : viz., 
twenty in Seely's company, twenty in Gallup's, four- 
teen in Marshall's, and nine in Mason's. About 
forty of the wounded recovered. The destruction 
of so many women and children made the most 
sad impression even on some of the soldiers, who 
were loud in their remonstrances. 

Major Treat took his troops immediately away, 
sending the wounded by water to Rhode Island. 
The Massachusetts and Plymouth troops remain- 
ed in the field most of the winter, pursuing Indians, 
and endeavouring to make peace with them. The 
destruction of the fort was the principal cause of 



184 VOLUNTEER COMPANIES. [1676. 

their overthrow. The Indians would listen to no 
proposals for peace : but set off for the Nipmuck 
country, which was in the present county of Wor- 
cester, Massachusetts, to join with that powerful 
tribe in new depredations. On the way they rob. 
bed some of the settlers ; and, in company with the 
Nipmucks, they plundered and burned the chief part 
of Lancaster on the 10th of February, killing and 
taking 40 persons. A kw days after, they attack- 
ed Med field, Massachusetts, burned half the houses, 
and killed 20 men. They continued their course of 
destruction in March, with ruinous effect in Massa- 
chusetts and Rhode Island : but, happily, did not 
invade Connecticut. The following towns were 
partly or wholly destroyed, and lost many of their 
inhabitants by death or captivity : Northampton, 
Springfield, Chelmsford, Groton, Sudbury, and 
Marlborough, Massachusetts ; Warwick and Prov- 
idence, Rhode Island ; and Reboboth and Swanzey, 
in Plymouth colony. The particulars of this de- 
structive campaign will be found in Church's His- 
tory of Philip's War. 

Captain Pierce, of Plymouth, with fifty English 
and twenty Indians, was cut off by an ambush ; and 
Captain Wadsworth, while marching to relieve Sud- 
bury with fifty men, met the same fate. The con- 
dition and prospects of the colonies were now most 
gloomy : but the spirit of some of the people was 
not depressed. Indeed, the sufferings and dangers 
of their neighbours were such as to excite the sym- 
pathy of the people of Connecticut ; and in Febru- 
ary, 1676, four companies of volunteers were form- 
ed in Stonington, Norwich, and New-London, who 
were very active for several months, and' did great 



1676.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 185 

service, under the command of their efficient lead- 
ers, Major Palms, and Captains George Denison, 
James A.very, and John Stanton. They were ac- 
companied by some Mohegans, under Onecho, the 
son of Uncas ; some Pequods, led by their chief Cas- 
sasinamon ; and about twenty of Ninigrate's Narra- 
gansets, under Catapazet. These companies took 
turns in traversing the Narraganset country, keep- 
ing them in constant fear until they were driven 
out of it and went to the north. 

Captain Denison performed most important ser- 
vice on one of these excursions. He left Sto- 
nington on the 27th of March, having learned 
that the chief sachem of all the Narragansets had 
come from the northern boundaries of Massachu- 
setts for seed.corn, to plant the towns which had 
been laid waste and deserted, was lurking in the 
neighbourhood. This was Nanuntteenoo, the son 
of Miantonimoh, a man of large size, athletic frame, 
and a proud spirit. Captain Denison hunted him 
in vain for several days. Having reached Black- 
stone's river, some distance north of Providence, 
they found the tracks of Indians ; and, having ta- 
ken a squaw prisoner, she told them that Nanunt- 
teenoo, or Canonchet as he was also called, was in 
a wigwam at no great distance. The chief was 
engaged in giving an account of the ambush in 
which Captain Pierce had been killed : for he was 
fresh from that dreadful scene of slaughter. As 
volunteers were pressing on to seize him, they 
were seen by several of his men, who ran away, 
except one, who gave Canonchet the alarm in sea- 
son to allow him to get some distance before his 
pursuers. 

Q2 



186 DEATH OF CANONCHET. [1676. 

Catapazet,the friendly Narraganset chief, thought 
he recogniesd Canonchet by his manner of run- 
ning, and immediately gave him chase ; and the 
swiftest of the Indians coming rapidly on, he first 
threw off his blanket, and then a laced coat that 
he had received as a present at Boston, by which 
it was known who he was. He soon reached a 
stream, through which he attempted to dash his 
way : but, his foot slipping, he fell and wet his gun; 
and the foremost of his pursuers, Monopoide, a 
Pequod, in an instant rushed through the water and 
seized him. The sachem seems to have at once 
lost all hope of escape. He made no resistance; 
and, when the first Englishman came up, a young 
man, named Robert Stanton, he refused to answer 
any of his questions, looking with disdain upon his 
youthful countenance, and said, in broken Eng- 
lish, "you too much child ; no understand matters 
of war ; let your captain come ; him will I an- 
swer." 

Several of Canonchet's chief counsellors also 
were taken ; and the English endeavoured to in- 
duce them all to become their friends, and abstain 
from war. The sachem, however, rejected their 
offers, and chose to be treated as an irreconcilable 
and dangerous enemy. They thought they had 
no other course to take but to put him to death ; 
and his execution was committed to the friendly 
Indians. When infomed that he must die, he re- 
plied that he " liked it well ; that he should die be- 
fore his heart was soft, or he had spoken anything 
unworthy of himself." He was taken to Stoning- 
ton, and there Oneco, with his counsellors and the 
principal Pequods, shot him with their guns. 



1676.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 187 

Another Narraganset sachem, a grandson of 
Pomham, was captured also by the volunteers, who, 
in the autumn, had made ten or twelve excursions, 
and killed and taken 230 of the enemy, got 50 
muskets, and 160 bushels of corn, yet did not lose 
a single man. The enemy were now again driven 
out of the Narraganset country. 



CHAPTER XXIII. 1676. 

Death and Character of Governor Winthrop —Governor Leet 
chosen in his Place.— The Indians pursued and destroyed 
in different parts of Connecticut and Massachusetts. — Battle 
of Northfield.— Captain Church — Philip killed at Mount 
Hope, in Rhode Island. — The War terminated. 

Governor Winthrop died on the 5th of April, 
1676. He was born in 1605, at Groton, in England, 
and was the eldest son of the first governor of Mas- 
sachusetts. He was educated in his native country 
at Cambridge, and travelled' for improvement in 
France, Holland, Germany, Italy, and Turkey. 
"While he collected the literature and excellences 
of the various countries through which he passed," 
says Trumbull, " he cautiously avoided their er- 
rors and vices." His example we may therefore 
warmly recommend to every young man, who, in 
later times, may, like him. become a traveller. He 
was a pious and learned man ; and, being a Puri- 
tan, like his father, he accompanied his family to 
America in 1631. On a visit to England he re- 



188 MAJ. TALCOTT RELIEVES HADLEY. [1676. 

ceived a commission to build Saybrook fort, and 
to be governor under the patent of Lord Say-and- 
Seal, Lord Brook, and others. He was chosen a 
magistrate of Connecticut in 1651, and governor 
in 1657; and from 1659 till his death he was an- 
nually re-elected to that office. He was one of 
the most distinguished men of New- England, and 
regarded as one of the best physicians and chem- 
ists of the time. He was a member of the Royal 
Society for Philosophical Transactions, and com- 
municated some of the earliest information con- 
cerning this country to that institution. 

William Leet, Esq., was chosen governor, and 
Captain Mason magistrate in his place. A stand- 
ing army of 350 men and the friendly Indians was 
ordered to be raised, to harass the enemy, under 
the command of Major John Talcott. 

Early in June the army marched from Norwich 
northward, through Wabaquasset (or the Mohe- 
gan conquered country), and found only the de- 
serted Indian fortresses, which they demolished, 
and 50 acres of corn, which they destroyed. Pass- 
ing into Massachusetts, at Chanagongum they kill- 
ed 19 Indians and took 33, and went to Brookfield, 
whence, not meeting the Massachusetts troops as 
they had expected, they proceeded to Northamp. 
ton. They suffered much from want of food, so 
that the expedition was called "the Long and 
Hungry March." 

The arrival of this force at Northampton was 
very opportune : for, four days after, their assist- 
ance was demanded at Hadley, where 700 Indians 
suddenly attacked the town, and would probably 
have destroyed it. with several others, but for the 



1676.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 189 

appearance of Major Talcott, at whose approach 
they fled, and afterward attempted nothing farther. 
The Massachusetts troops at length arrived, and 
joined with those from Connecticut for three weeks 
in scouring both sides of the river up to Deerfield 
falls. They found quantities offish and other pro- 
visions, which they destroyed, and also recovered 
some stolen property. The battle of Northfield, 
Massachusetts, gave the final blow to the Indians, 
as many were destroyed and all dispersed. 

Major Talcott then marched his troops back to 
the Narraganset country, where, on the 3d of July, 
they surprised the main army of the enemy in a 
cedar swamp. They surrounded it, and fought 
them for two or three hours, killing and taking 
171. Among the captives was Magnus, the Sunk 
or Snuke Squaw, an old Queen of Narraganset. 
According to the barbarous custom of the times, 
90 of the captives were killed : only 40 or 50, be- 
ing women and children, were saved. The troops 
then moved the same day to Providence Neck, and 
afterward to Warwick Neck, killing 18 and taking 
49 prisoners. Among the whole 238, they found 
about 30 muskets. They then returned home. 
The volunteers, in the mean time, had killed and 
taken 182 Indians. 

The Indians appear to have begun to despair 
from this time, being reduced to great distress by 
the loss of numbers, habitation, food, and secure 
retreats, as well as by the close pursuit of their en- 
emies. The flesh of horses and other unwhole- 
some fare had caused much sickness among them : 
so that, as some of them declared, more died of dis- 
ease than in battle. They were now scattered about 



190 DEATH OF KING PHILIP. [1676. 

the country in small parties, seeking food and ex- 
posed to destruction ; and numbers of them soon 
began to come in to the settlements, and ask for 
that mercy which the colonists were glad to grant 
them. 

Major Talcott was despatched to Westfield, 
whence he made a hasty march in pursuit of a large 
body of Indians, on their flight to the westward, 
no doubt to join the Mohawks, fifty-five of whom 
were soon killed and taken. Among the former 
was the sachem of Winnimisset or Brookfield, in 
Massachusetts. 

One of the most active and successful of the of- 
ficers of that period was Captain Church ; and the 
reader of Church's Narrative of Philip's War, 
written by his son, will find in it many interesting 
particulars, chiefly relating to the expeditions in 
the Narraganset country. Philip, still showing 
himself to be utterly opposed to peace, although 
deserted by most of his forces, had returned to 
Pocanoket (a place near Bristol, Rhode Island) to 
procure seed-corn, was pursued thither, and closely 
pressed by Captain Church, and several times but 
barely escaped capture. He was at length traced 
to a swamp at the foot of Mount Hope or Montaup, 
his former residence, and there surrounded and am- 
bushed through the night. In the gray of the morn- 
ing, while attempting to steal away through a mist, 
he was shot by a soldier, and killed on the spot. 

His surviving chief captains were soon after 
taken prisoners or killed by Church and his men, 
and were all pardoned except a few of the most 
obnoxious ; and thus the war was brought to a 
conclusion. The Assembly of Connecticut offered 



1676.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 191 

to the Indians life, liberty, protection, and ground 
to cultivate (the terms which they had given to 
the Pequods), excepting only the chief instigators. 
Many of them, however, chose to reject them, and 
left the country. The immediate result of their 
emigration was the deliverance of the colonies from 
numerous enemies : but it probably increased the 
evils of invasion which they suffered many years 
afterward. Several large tribes fled to Canada, 
and joined the Indians there, thus placing them- 
selves under the protection of the French, who 
were long the most implacable enemies of the 
English colonies. This was done by the Nipmucks 
from Brookfield and its vicinity, the Nashawas, the 
Pocomtocks from Windsor, the Hadley and Spring- 
field Indians. 

Thus the people of New- England were for a time 
delivered from the fear of their savage and terrible 
enemies, and were at liberty to rebuild their ruined 
habitations and cultivate their neglected fields. 
But they had a sad reckoning to make of their 
losses and sufferings. About 600 men of the 
flower of the colonies had been slain in war ; 
twelve or thirteen towns in Massachusetts, Ply- 
mouth, and Rhode Island had been partly or wholly 
destroyed ; many cattle had been killed ; and the 
country was burdened with a debt of immense 
amount compared with its resources. 

The war with the Eastern Indians we shall not 
stop to speak of particularly, as it did not imme- 
diately affect Connecticut. It cost Massachusetts 
a great deal; and, although it began about the 
same time, was not closed until 1678. Most of 
the eastern and northern settlements of that colo- 



192 CLOSE OF THE WAR. [1676. 

ny, extending into the present states of Maine and 
New-Hampshire, were broken up ; about twenty 
fishing vessels, with their crews, were captured ; 
and numerous lives were lost. An account of that 
war may be found in " Hubbard's Indian Wars." 

Although Connecticut had not suffered in Philip's 
war as severely as her neighbours, her taxes had 
been for three years as high as eleven pence on 
the pound on the grand list, besides town and par- 
ish taxes, and yet a considerable debt remained 
unpaid. The people were greatly favoured by 
Providence, by having few but friendly Indians in 
their territory, and not a single party of men cut 
off* by surprise in their numerous enterprises in aid 
of their neighbours. In this, as in many other 
cases of difficulty and danger, they had reason to 
confide and rejoice in the protection of that Al- 
mighty Being, to whom they paid such becoming 
regard in their public acts, as well as in their social 
institutions ; and who had given them so much 
reason for inscribing on the arms of the colony 
that noble motto : 

" Qui transtulit sustinet." 
[He who brought over sustains.] 

The population of the country, checked by war 
and many untoward circumstances, was still but 
small. Trumbull estimates the inhabitants of New- 
England in 1675 at only 35,750 persons, in 7150 
families. If the same rule be applied to Connecti- 
cut, it will give an amount of population only a lit- 
tle exceeding that of Hartford or New-Haven at the 
present day. 

The Assembly met in October, laid a tax of 



1678.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 193 

eight pence on the pound upon the whole list for 
two years, gave permission to the Mohegans, Pe- 
quods, and Ninigrate's Narragansets to hunt on 
the conquered territory, and kill any remaining en- 
emies, and appointed a committee to hear their com- 
plaints, and to settle them all in peace. 

In 1677, Captain John Mason having died of the 
wounds received at the Narraganset fort, Mr. An- 
drew Leet was chosen a magistrate in his place. 
A committee was appointed to arrange affairs about 
the Narraganset country, and to report places fit 
for settlements: for Rhode Island had done nothing 
there in the war. Colonel Nichol's proceedings, 
they considered, had nullified the act of his majes- 
ty's commissioners making it the King's Colony ; 
while the agreement with Mr. Clark was of no 
force, on several considerations. The Assembly 
granted protection to Elisha Hutchinson, William 
Hudson, and others, in resettling a large tract of 
land in the Pequod and Narraganset country. 

While the Assembly were in session in October, 
they were requested, by the upper towns in Con- 
necticut River, to send Major Treat to confer with 
a large number of Indians in that region, who seem, 
ed desirous of peace. He was despatched accord- 
ingly, to offer them the usual terms, and with di- 
rections to ransom all the captives if possible. In 
the latter part of his duty he was in part success, 
ful : but very few of the Indians were willing to re- 
main in the country. 

R 



194 RHODE ISLAND RENEWS HER CLAIM. [1678. 



CHAPTER XXIV. 1678. 

Edward Randolph misrepresents the Colonies to the King.— 
Death of Governor Leet. — His History and Character. — 
Claims of the Duke of York and Duke of Hamilton. — Sick- 
ness in the Colony. — Colonel Dugan Governor of New-York. 
— Accession of King James II.— Randolph arrives from Eng- 
land to examine the Charters of the Colonies.- Sir Edmund 
Andross made Governor of New-England. — He marches to 
Hartford with a Body guard, and demands the Charter of 
Connecticut.— It is concealed in the Charter Oak, and pre- 
served. 

In 1678 the colonies suffered some of the ill ef- 
fects of a bad government in England. James the 
Second, being an enemy to liberty, civil and reli- 
gious, and, of course, being inimical to the principles 
of New-England, was ready to listen to their de- 
famers ; and Edward Randolph became very of- 
ficious in spying out their liberty, in order to de- 
prive them of it. He made an annual visit to Bos- 
ton from 1676, and usually returned in autumn to 
England, to make complaints and undermine the 
interests of the country at court, particularly by 
representing them as unreasonably opposed to the 
acts of trade and navigation. The commissioners, 
well knowing to whom men should always apply 
in times of difficulty and danger, recommended a 
general fast, with humble prayer to God for the 
preservation of their rights. This was complied 
with, as usual, by the Assembly of Connecticut, as 
well as the other confederates. 

Rhode Island began again to claim jurisdiction 



1680] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 195 

in the Narraganset country ; which the Assembly 
forbade the settlers to acknowledge. 

At the session in May, 1680, Governor Leet, of 
Connecticut, took the oath respecting trade and 
navigation required by the king, although Massa- 
chusetts refused to obey it, and the governor of that 
colony declined taking the oath. 

This year a statement of the condition of Con- 
necticut was made, at the request of the commit- 
tee of trade and the colonies, from which we learn 
that it contained 26 small towns, with 21 churches, 
all of which had settled ministers except two new 
ones. Its exports were about £9000 in value an- 
nually ; and it owned 24 small vessels, some of 
which traded with Boston, and others with the 
West Indies. The vessels were 4 ships, 3 pinks, 
-8 sloops, and 12 smaller vessels, with a tonnage of 
5080 tons. There were but tew servants, and not 
more than 30 slaves. The militia numbered 2507. 
There was one troop of mounted soldiers, and two 
others were raising. The forces were called train- 
bands, commanded by a major in each county, and 
a general for the colony. In Hartford county were 
835 militia, New-Haven 623, New-London 509, 
and Fairfield 540. These trainbands contained 
all the men between 16 and 60 years of age. 

The Indians were computed at 500 fighting men. 
At that time the Assembly, in giving in these and 
the following particulars to the lords of the com- 
mittee of the colonies, said, " We are strangers 
to the French in Canada, and know nothing of 
their strength or commerce." It was suggested 
that it would be very favourable to commerce "if 
so be New-London, New-Haven, and Fairfield 
might be made free ports for 15 or 20 years." 



196 ANDROSS CLAIMS FISHER's ISLAND. [1680. 

There came " sometimes three or four blacks 
from Barbadoes," who were sold for £22 each. 

The number of men in 1671 was 2050 ; in 1676, 
2303 ; in 1677, 2362 ; in 1678, 2490 ; and in 1679, 
2507. The commodities' were lumber, provisions, 
and horses. The whole property did not exceed 
£110,788 sterling. The only export or import 
duties on goods were on wines and liquors, and 
these were appropriated to maintain free schools. 

" The people," said the report, " are strict Con- 
gregationalists, a {ew more large Congregational, 
ists, and some moderate Presbyterians. There are 
about four or five Seven-day men, and about as many 
Quakers. Great care is taken of the instruction 
of the people in the Christian religion, by minis- 
ters catechizing and preaching twice every Sab- 
bath, and sometimes on lecture-days ; and also by 
masters of families instructing their children and 
servants, which the law commands them to do. 

" Every town maintains its own poor : but there 
is seldom any want, because labour is dear, being 
from 25. to 2s. Gd. a day for a labourer; because 
provisions are cheap : wheat is 4s. a bushel Win- 
chester, pease 3s., Indian corn 2s. 6d., pork '3d. a 
pound, beef 2\d. a pound, butter 6d., and so other 
matters in proportion. Beggars and vagabonds 
are not suffered ; but, when discovered, they are 
bound out to service ; vagabonds, who pass up and 
down, are punished by law." 

Sir Edmund Andross now began again to trouble 
the colony, by claiming the jurisdiction of Fisher's 
Island. It was impossible to forefel what difficulty 
he might not cause if allowed to hold that impor- 
tant place ; and the Assembly protested against him. 



1683] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 197 

In 1683 the governor's office was vacant, in con- 
sequence of the death of William Leet, Esq. His 
history is interesting, as, in fact, is that of most of 
his associates, as far as it is known. He was a 
lawyer in England, and joined the Puritans in con- 
sequence of witnessing the injustice and severity 
practised upon them by the English bishops early 
in the seventeenth century. From his acquaint- 
ance with their "pure" principles, for which they 
were first persecuted, he had honesty enough to 
acknowledge that the bishops were in the wrong 
in punishing them for attending good sermons and 
solemn meetings in neighbouring parishes when 
they had none at home ; and, preferring the sin- 
cere and defenceless victims to those who claimed 
the right of ruling their consciences, he came to 
America with Mr. Whitfield in 1638, settled at 
Guilford, and became one of the seven pillars of 
his church. He was a magistrate of New- Haven 
colony from 1643 until 1658, then deputy-governor 
till 1661, when he was elected governor. He held 
that office till the union with Connecticut in 1605, 
and then was chosen a magistrate. In 1669 he 
became deputy-governor, and governor in 1669. 
These offices he held without intermission during 
forty years of the greatest difficulty, and never 
failed to act with honour and integrity. The last 
few years of his life were spent in Hartford, where 
he died, says Trumbull, " full of years and good 
works." 

To decide the question concerning the king's 

right to the Narraganset country as his colony, a 

commission met there on the 22d of August, 1683, 

consisting of Edward Cranfield, Esq., lieutenant- 

R2 



198 COL. DUGAN GOVERNOR OF N. YORK. [1683. 

governor of New-Hampshire, and Messrs. Stough- 
ton, Dudley, Randolph, Shrimpton, Winthrop, 
Palms, Saltonstall, and Pyncheon, appointed by 
his majesty. After obtaining testimony from " the 
most ancient English and Indians then living," they 
made a full report, declaring that it belonged to 
Connecticut. 

In the mean time, another difficulty arose con- 
cerning the same territory. Edward Randolph, 
Esq., laid before the commissioners at Boston the 
Marquis of Hamilton's claim to the Narraganset 
lands, having a power of attorney from the duke 
and duchess and the Earl of Arran, to sue for them 
for what they supposed had been granted to their 
ancestor in 1635. Answers were returned by the 
proprietors and the colony ; and, some years after, 
the opinions of several learned lawyers were ob- 
tained, adverse to the claim. 

Connecticut was much afflicted by sickness this 
year, and a large number of parishes were depri- 
ved of their ministers by death. The harvest also 
was scanty ; and, with a desire to acknowledge the 
hand of God in this misfortune, a fast was appoint- 
ed, and the people were called upon to humble 
themselves before him. The proclamation says, 
" the dispensations of God towards his poor wilder- 
ness people have been very solemn, and awful, and 
speaking for many years past," and particularly at 
that time, in general sickness in most places, ex- 
cessive rains and floods in several plantations. 

About this time a new governor had been sent 
from England to New-York. This was Colonel 
Dugan, on whose arrival the Assembly of Con- 
necticut sent a committee to congratulate him, and 



1685.] 



HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 199 



to settle the boundaries between the two colonies. 
This question was arranged on the 28th of Novem- 
ber, though the committee was not appointed before 
the 14th ; and the line was begun at Lyon's Point, 
at the mouth of By ram River, up that stream to 
" the wading-place," thence north and northwest 
eight miles from Lyon's Point, and thence to the 
line of Massachusetts, by a course to be laid down 
from other lines to be drawn. This was approved 
at the May session following ; the line was run in 
1685 by Major Gould, Mr. Burr, and Mr. Selleck, 
and ratified by both parties. 

The Assembly were informed, by letters from 
the king in 1683, that a conspiracy had been plan- 
ned against his majesty and the Duke of York ; 
and sent a letter expressing their abhorrence of 
such plots, saying they feared God and honoured 
the king. 

A law against pirates was passed in 1684, in 
consequence of a letter from Lyonel Jenkins, Esq., 
demanding it in the king's name. 

James II. having come to the throne in 1685, 
the Assembly addressed him a letter of condolence 
and congratulation, and praying the continuance of 
their civil and religious privileges. 

But James was too little a friend to his subjects 
and his duty to regard the leading champions of 
freedom with favour. Having trampled on the 
rights of Englishmen at home with as little scruple 
as his predecessor had done in his later years, he 
soon began to oppress his subjects in America. 
Charters were disregarded by both monarchs, and 
those of the colonies were soon questioned by 
James. On the 6th of July, 1686, the Assembly 



200 SCHEMES OF JAMES II. [1686. 

met at the governor's special call, in consequence 
of having heard of a writ of quo warranto, issued 
in the preceding year, summoning the governor 
and company of Connecticut to show by what war- 
rant they exercised certain privileges. The As- 
sembly addressed a letter to the king ; and soon 
after Mr. Randolph arrived, with writs, when Mr. 
Whiting was appointed agent, with instructions to 
request the king that, in case the colony should be 
divided, the people might be secured in their prop- 
erty and privileges. 

Another writ was presented on the 28th of De- 
cember, requiring appearance " within eight days 
of the Purification of the Blessed Virgin." Still, 
although that would have been impossible, the char- 
tered rights of the colony were again declared va- 
cated in case of non-appearance. The prospect 
was now very gloomy for Connecticut, as well as 
for the rest of New-England, whose charters were 
in danger of the same unceremonious and unjust 
violation by which nearly fifty corporations had 
been destroyed in England. How could a small 
colony expect to preserve its rights, when not only 
the corporation of Bermudas, but the city of Lon- 
don, had been robbed of their charters, after a trial 
in courts overawed by the king? 

And now, under the authority of the monarch, 
who was considered as bound by his creed to seek 
the overthrow of Protestantism, a new and general 
government had been formed for New-England ex- 
cept Connecticut. This was designed to subvert 
the whole system of the colonies, and to counteract 
and disappoint the philanthropic and noble designs 
of their founders. The commissioners were made 



1687.] 



HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 201 



the ruling body, and Mr. Dudley was made their 
president by the king. The old charters were to 
b8 recalled, and the " King's Colony" was to be 
recognised, so that the Narraganset country would 
be lost to Connecticut. At the same time, new 
principles must be brought into action, of a charac- 
ter the opposite of those which had governed be- 
fore ; and what evils might not be apprehended } 
Massachusetts had already resigned her charter, 
and Rhode Island had submitted to the king's wish- 
es. Here, then, was a period of peculiar trial for 
the people of Connecticut. 

A third special meeting of the Assembly, held in 
January, 1687, committed the management of af- 
fairs to the governor and council ; and in June an- 
other met, on the receipt of a letter of a gloomy 
character from Mr. Whiting, in England. 

The king had seen that, by directing the com- 
missioners, he might control the colonies ; and 
Mr. Dudley must obey, or soon leave his office. 
He went so far as to write to Connecticut that she 
had better resign her charter : but this she had 
not seen fit to do. Probably Mr. Dudley was too 
unwilling to injure the colonies to render him a fa- 
vourite with the king; and Sir Edmund Andross 
was ere long invested with the chief power, by 
being made governor of New-England, while Mr. 
Dudley was deprived of his office. The change 
was soon madt: : for Andross arrived at Boston 
on the 19th of December, 1685, and began to act 
as governor the next day. Two letters were sent 
by him to Connecticut, urging that the charter 
might be given up ; and Colonel Dugan seconded 
the request. The Assembly, however, seemed re- 
solved to insist upon the rights of the colony. 



202 THE CHARTER OAK. [1687. 

They had another meeting in October, and pro- 
ceeded in the usual manner, in obedience to the 
charter ; when a body of English regular troops, 
amounting to above sixty, came marching into 
Hartford, escorting Andross and his party. He 
came with the peremptory authority of his tyran- 
nical master, demanded the charter of the col- 
ony, and declared the Assembly dissolved. It is 
said that Governor Treat remonstrated and ar- 
gued at length, and that much time was occupied 
in debating what course to pursue, till evening ar- 
rived, and the discussion was continued by the 
Assembly in the presence of the imperious An- 
dross. It is reported by tradition that the meet- 
ing was held in a house which stood on a spot 
nearly opposite the present Middle Church ; that the 
evening was warm, the front windows low and open, 
and crowded by spectators in the street. The char- 
ter, which was so dearly cherished by all the peo- 
pie, had been produced, and lay on the table. At 
a signal given, several men in the street pulled off 
their light jackets, wound them in bundles, and 
threw them at the candles, which were instantly 
extinguished. They were soon relighted : but the 
contested document was gone, and all inquiry for 
it proved fruitless. Search was made, but no trace 
of it could be discovered ; and at length Andross, 
after taking the government on himself, was forced 
to return to Boston with his troops, entirely baffled 
in his nefarious project. 

It was long before the charter came again to 
light. After King James's death, and when dan- 
ger had ceased, it was found concealed in the hol- 
low of a noble old oak-tree in front of the mansion 



1687.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 203 

of the Hon. Samuel Wyllys, where it had been de- 
posited, in entire secrecy, by the patriotic and res- 
olute Captain Wadsworth, whose name will not 
fail to be remembered with respect and gratitude. 
The oak is flourishing still, although it was left on 
account of its great size when the forest was first 
cleared away ; and the charter is still preserved, 
with the case in which it was originally placed, in 
the office of the secretary of state. 



CHAPTER XXV. 1687. 

The Government of Connecticut dissolved by Andross.— His 
Council.— His oppressive Measures. — He denies Indian Deeds, 
and gives Patents for Estates. — Restrictions on Public Rights 
and Personal Liberty.— Condition and Prospects of the Peo- 
ple.— An important Change in their favour hrought about by 
that Providence in which they trusted.— William made King 
of England.— Andross seized by the People of Boston. — The 
legal Government restored in Massachusetts and Connecticut. 

The loss of the charter did not prevent Andross 
from overthrowing the government ; and the As- 
sembly was dissolved, leaving only this record in 
the journal : 

"'At a General Court at Hartford, October 31st, 
1687, his excellency Sir Edmund Andross, knight, 
and captain general and governor of his majesty's 
territories and dominions in New-England, by or- 
der from his majesty, James the Second, king of 
England, Scotland, France, and Ireland, the 31st 
of October, 1687, took into his hands the govern- 



204 HOPE IN ADVERSITY. [1687. 

ment of the colony of Connecticut, it being by his 
majesty annexed to Massachusetts, and other colo- 
nies under his excellency's government. 
« FINIS." 

We may imagine the melancholy feelings with 
which these words were written. The labours, 
self-denial, and perseverance of the planters of 
Connecticut were now apparently rendered entire- 
ly fruitless ; the exertions of two generations of 
devoted men to form a state on principles far more 
sound, pure, and philanthropic than any before ac- 
knowledged in a government, now seemed to have 
been in vain ; and what hope could there be of 
their revival? An overthrow might have been 
looked for in Europe : but it had been hoped that, 
at. such a distance and in such a wilderness, per- 
secution would not seek her victim. But there 
was nothing too obscure or remote to escape the 
hand of the foreign oppressors, where they had the 
power to extend it. It has always been so where 
tyrants have had power. It is not to be ima- 
gined, however, that the statesmen of Connecticut, 
even in such a time of gloom and foreboding, for- 
got the Rock in which their fathers had placed 
their trust. Christianity kindles an inextinguish- 
able hope in the soul, while it springs from an en- 
tire confidence in the Almighty which nothing can 
overthrow. Those pious men constantly practised 
on that humble but ennobling principle of the Gos- 
pel, which leads man to regard all events as under 
the control of his Heavenly Father, and every trial 
as a thing designed to encourage him in duty, and 
not to dishearten him. 

Probably the leading statesmen of the colonies 



1687.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 205 

had an understanding with each other, and agreed 
that, they should retain all the influence which they 
honestly might, to prevent as much evil as possible. 
Andross, on his part, probably found that he could 
not at once proceed with all his meditated measures, 
and that the countenance of men of influence was 
necessary to him, at least for a time. He formed 
a council of about forty men, which he afterward 
increased to nearly fifty. Among them were four 
from Connecticut, viz., Governor Treat, John Fitz 
Winthrop, Wait Winthrop, and John Allen, Esqs. 
Andross made the fairest promises, to quiet the 
fears of the people : but soon began to exercise the 
unlimited and irresponsible power which the king 
had given him. He would not allow truths dis- 
pleasing to him to be published, allowed none but 
magistrates to join persons in marriage, and sus- 
pended the laws made for the support of ministers. 
Finding that the people were opposed to such meas- 
ures, he threatened to deprive them of their meet- 
ing-houses, and to punish any person who should 
give even twopence to a nonconformist minister. 
He greatly oppressed the poor, and the widows and 
orphans especially, by requiring all business rela- 
ting to wills to be settled at Boston, and raising the 
fee for the probate of a will to fifty shillings. Such 
measures he adopted without regard to his council, 
if they withheld their consent. Randolph and a 
few other subservient men, whom he had raised to 
it for his own purposes, adhered to him ; and the 
people had no resort for relief. It was evident 
that arguments and petitions were as unavailing 
with the king, as those of the Waldenses and Al- 
bigenses had been with the popes. 
S 



206 OPPRESSIVE ACTS OF ANDROSS. [1688. 

This is a period in the history of the colonies 
which the people will always have reason to re- 
gard with peculiar seriousness. The state to 
which they were reduced was one which seemed 
to threaten the final destruction of liberty, civil and 
religious ; and there was no remedy within the 
power of man while the king retained his throne 
and disposition, and had unprincipled favourites to 
place over this country. Divine Providence was 
pleased to bring those afflictions to an end, though 
not until they had continued some time longer, and 
had been increased by several aggravations. The 
enemies of the colonies were not permitted to ob- 
tain a complete and permanent triumph : otherwise 
the inhabitants of New-England might have been to 
this day ignorant, superstitious, degraded, and op- 
pressed. The men of those times clearly under- 
stood their rights, and manfully sustained them ; 
and if their descendants wish to see from what 
condition they were saved by the intelligence and 
virtue of their ancestors, let them look at the mis- 
erable nations of Spain and Italy, and thank God 
that they have a different ancestry. 

The year 1688 saw the people reduced to the 
lowest state of depression. Sir Edmund Andross 
was then made governor of New- York as well as 
of New-England ; and his domineering, tyrannical 
spirit displayed itself in a manner which led Hutch- 
inson to compare him with Nero. The charters 
having been now put out of the way, he began to 
think of seizing the property of the colonies. He 
declared that an Indian treaty was of no more value 
than " the scratch of a bear's paw ;" and gave notice 
that proprietors of estates must take out patents 



1688.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 207 

for them. For these he sometimes required the 
payment of £50 a piece. This was so glaringly 
unjust and oppressive, that some of the principal 
men refused to submit to it ; and the consequence 
was, that their lands were given to others. Gov- 
ernor Hutchinson says, that the whole property of 
Massachusetts would not have been sufficient to pay 
for the patents, if this tax had been levied on all at 
once. Numbers of the people of that colony were 
imprisoned, and denied the privilege of Habeas 
Corpus ; only one town meeting was allowed in a 
year ; people were forbidden to go out of the coun- 
try without the governor's permission, so that they 
were restricted, as many European nations are 
now ; remonstrances and petitions to the king had 
no effect ; and Andross proved himself to be, in the 
words of his favourite, Randolph, " as arbitrary as 
the Grand Turk." In spite of danger, however, 
Mr. Increase Mather boldly took ship and sailed 
for England, presented himself before the king, 
and delivered to him a list of complaints which 
he had carried from Massachusetts : but it was 
all in vain. 

Connecticut suffered less than some of the other 
colonies from the arbitrary and high-handed meas- 
ures of the governor : but her liberty and the prop- 
erty of her citizens were in continual danger. The 
people judged, from what they saw and heard, that 
Andross was in heart attached to Rome, and had 
excited and engaged the Indians to invade the col- 
onies. It was rumoured, and extensively believed, 
that he had furnished them with ammunition, and 
was prepared to deliver up the country to the 
French, and the descendants of the Pilgrims to 



208 CHARTER GOVERNMENT RESTORED. [1688. 

such persecutions as the Huguenots had suffered 
in France. The people and their legitimate ru- 
lers, however, in the midst of these dangers, re- 
tained their trust in God ; and deliverance came 
at length, perhaps from a source which few of them 
had expected. 

A vessel arrived at Boston in May, bringing the 
most welcome tidings : the King of England, whom 
the colonists regarded as the author of their troub- 
les, had been driven from the throne ; William, 
prince of Orange, the chief supporter of the Prot- 
estant cause in Europe, having been invited to come 
from Holland, and totally defeated the royal army. 
This was sad intelligence for Andross and his 
friends ; and, while they were dreading the conse- 
quence, the tidings were joyfully carried to Con- 
necticut. 

The magistrates in Massachusetts seemed at 
first in doubt what to do : but the people of Bos- 
ton and that vicinity could not long suppress their 
impatience ; and on the 18th of April they rose 
in arms, took the castle, seized Andross and his 
councillors, stripped him of power, but were too 
magnanimous to insult or injure him. They then 
requested the governor and council to assemble and 
assume the government as before his interference ; 
and thus everything was soon peacefully restored 
to the former state. In Connecticut, the people, 
having no enemies to subdue, desired that the old 
system might be re-established ; and, on the 9th of 
May, Governor Treat and Lieutenant-governor 
Bishop resumed their offices, and the magistracy 
was made complete by the choice of Major-gen- 
eral John Winthrop. All was done, as customary 
in Connecticut, according to order and law. 



1688.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 209 

The freemen had met and voted that, for the 
present safety of that part of New-England called 
Connecticut, the necessity of its circumstances so 
requiring, they " would re-establish government as 
it was before, and at the time when Sir Edmund 
Andross took it, and so have it proceed, as it did 
before that time, according to charter ; engaging 
themselves to submit to it accordingly, until there 
should be a legal establishment among them." 

The Assembly were not slow in meeting ; and 
they resolved, " That whereas this court hath been 
interrupted in the management of the government 
in this colony of Connecticut for nineteen months 
past, it is now enacted, ordered, and declared, that 
all the laws of the colony, made according to char- 
ter, and courts constituted for the administration 
of government, as they were before the late in- 
terruption, shall be of full force and virtue for the 
future, and until this court shall see cause to make 
farther and other alterations, according to charter." 
S 2 



210 BURNING OF SCHENECTADY. [1689. 



CHAPTER XXVI. 1689. 

A French Fleet is sent against New-York, but called to Canada, 
to protect that Country from the Five Nations.— The Burning 
and Massacre of Schenectady. — Measures for protecting the 
Frontiers. — The Northern Colonies engage in a Land and Sea 
Expedition against Canada. — New-York and the Five Nations 
fail to perform their parts; and General Winthrop returns 
from Lake Champlain with his Army.— Governor Phipps 
makes an unsuccessful Attempt against Quebec. — Leisler's 
Treatment of General Winthrop — Vote of Thanks to Mr. 
Mather. — Defensive Measures. — The Invasion Of the Five 
Nations by the French —Colonel Fletcher demands the Mili- 
tia of Connecticut to be placed at his Orders. — He is refused. 
— The Boldness of Captain Wadsworth. 

The colonies, after having been delivered from 
enemies at home, were now seriously threatened 
by a very formidable foe from abroad. The King 
of France despatched a fleet across the Atlantic 
to capture New- York ; and the apprehensions of 
the country were greatly and justly excited on re- 
ceiving the news. Before it had time to accom- 
plish its object, however, the commander received 
an urgent call from Canada, which induced him at 
once to renounce his design, and to proceed for the 
defence of that country: for the Five Nations were 
carrying on a war with the Canadians, which 
greatly distressed them. Thus the danger was re- 
moved. 

Count Frontenac, determined to do what harm 
he could against the colonies, in January, 1690, 
sent out more than 200 French and Indians to fall 
on the frontiers. Schenectady (15 miles west from 
Albany) was at that time the most western settle- 



1690. J HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 211 

ment in New. York ; and Captain Bull was spend- 
ing the winter there in garrison with his little troop, 
but in such circumstances that he could do them 
but little good. The people of that colony were 
much opposed to Governor Leisler, and would not 
allow the troops in Albany and Schenectady to do 
duty, although Captain Bull had threatened to march 
away. The inhabitants of- Schenectady saw no 
room for fear, thinking it impossible that the ene- 
my could perform a march from Canada in the 
dead of winter. A hostile force, however, was 
then near them, which was Frontenac's expedition, 
in a reduced condition, after a 28 days' march. 
Several Indian scouts came in from it to spy out 
the state of the town, with serious thoughts of 
surrender : but they made such a report that, on 
the 8th of February, the whole body came suddenly 
on, in the silence of night. There being no watch 
nor sentinel posted, they proceeded in small par- 
ties to all the houses at once, and began a merci- 
less and indiscriminate massacre, while they burn- 
ed the dwellings. Sixty persons were slaughtered, 
and 20 taken captive, while the rest escaped in 
their night-clothes. 25 of whom lost limbs by freez- 
ing. Among the killed were Captain Bull's lieu- 
tenant, a sergeant, and three of his men ; and five 
more were made prisoners. The news caused a 
panic at Albany, so that the citizens were about to 
desert and burn the town. 

Not long after this (viz., on the 18th of March), 
the village of Salmon Falls was taken by about 50 
French and Indians, under a French officer named 
Hurtel. They attacked it in the morning in three 
divisions, and were bravely resisted, but were vie- 



212 ADDRESS TO KING WILLIAM. [1690. 

torious, killing 36 men, and taking 54 captives to 
Canada, chiefly women and children. 

A special meeting of the Assembly was held on 
the 11th of April, and troops were sent to the Mas- 
sachusetts towns on the Connecticut, is well as to 
Albany, in consequence of urgent requests for aid 
from the two colonies. A strict watch was order- 
ed to be kept in all the towns by p.il the males in 
turn ; and aged and infirm men having more than 
£50 on the list were to hire substitutes. 

All the military officers were then confirmed, 
and appointments were made of civil officers, as 
formerly. The Assembly also made provision for 
the calling of another meeting, in case of impor- 
tant business. We may imagine something of the 
change of feelings which the king's overthrow pro- 
duced in the country, and of the new joy caused 
by the arrival of a vessel at Boston on the 26th 
of May, which brought the news of the coronation 
of William and Mary. The throne was now de- 
cidedly in favour of the people of New-England ; 
and the difference between its friendship and its 
enmity they were able to realize. The Assembly 
were called together again on the 13th of June ; 
and the king and queen were proclaimed on that 
day, with universal satisfaction. 

An address was sent to the king through Mr. 
Whiting, saying that God had magnified him, like 
Joshua, by the great deeds he had done in rescuing 
the nation ; and thanking him for his zeal for the 
people and the Protestant interest. They told him 
of their claims to their charter, which they had 
never surrendered, and desired him to confirm to 
them its privileges. 



1690.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 213 

A request had been received from Captain John 
Leisler, at New-York, that troops might be sent to 
aid him in keeping the fort and city, as he had as- 
sumed the government on hearing the news from 
England. Major Gould and Captain James Fitch 
were sent to consult with him; and troops were 
marched to New-York and Albany, under an ap- 
prehension that the French designed to make an 
invasion by both sea and land. The force sent 
to Albany was commanded by Captain Bull, with 
orders to assist in a treaty with the Five Nations 
and to defend that region against the French and 
Canada Indians. Two companies were also sent 
against the Eastern Indians, who continued to give 
trouble to Massachusetts. Captain Bull afterward V 
greatly distinguished himself by his activity judff 
ment, and success in the military operations in 
New-York. 

The commissioners, having been restored to 
power since the revolution, met at New-York on 
the 1st of May, 1690, and ordered that 800 men 
should be raised to march against Canada, fixing 
the quotas of the colonies, and rules for the army 
In the preceding months a request had been sent 
to the king, for aid in an intended invasion of that 
country : but the condition of England would not 
permit it. The commissioners, with New York 
however, determined to undertake a war alone • 
and proposed to get 500 or 600 Indians to accom-' 
pany the whites against Montreal, while a fleet 
should enter the St. Lawrence and besiege Que- 
bee. They counted on receiving from that colony 
a large savage force, and hoped New- York would 
furnish provisions, and vessels to carry them down 
Lake Erie. 



214 LEISLER SEIZES GEN. WINTHROP. [1690. 

John Winthrop, Esq., was appointed major-gen- 
eral and commander-in-chief, and reached Wood 
Creek with his troops in August. About the same 
time, Governor Phipps, of Massachusetts, with 
more than 30 vessels, sailed from Nantasket for 
Quebec. The largest of the vessels carried 40 
guns and 200 men. The fleet did not reach its 
destination until the 5th of October ; and, before 
that time, the army had returned to Albany. This 
was done in consequence of the Indians sending 
but 70 instead of 500 warriors, and the want of 
canoes and provisions. Count Frontenac had his 
troops in Montreal, expecting the intended inva- 
sion ; and now hastened to defend Quebec against 
the fleet, as there were only 200 Frenchmen in 
that city. 

While the army and the fleet were absent from 
New-England, some of the French force appeared 
on the coast, and, landing at Block Island, plun- 
dered the houses and captured most of the people. 

Sir William Phipps landed his troops on the 8th 
of October, marched towards Quebec, cannonading 
it at the same time from the ships. But he made 
no impression, re-embarked on the 11th, and, after 
being exposed to bad weather, was forced to return 
to Boston without success. 

Governor Leisler and Milborn were so enraged 
at Mr. Winthrop that they arrested him on his 
reaching Hudson, and kept him prisoner, intending 
to try him, until the Mohawks, who were attached 
to him, took him from their hands. Some of the 
principal men of Albany, being of the general's 
council, had to flee to Connecticut for safety from 
Leisler ; and Mr. Livingston and several of his 



1691.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 215 

friends resided for some time at Hartford. The 
Assembly protested against Leisler's lawless pro- 
ceedings, as a violation of his duty to the United 
Colonies, when he ought to have complained to the 
commissioners. They also passed a vote of thanks 
to General Winthrop for his good service to their 
majesties and the colony, in bringing off the army 
when it would have been imprudent to proceed. 

There being an alarm in the upper river towns 
in Massachusetts in the winter, a company of Con- 
necticut troops was sent to Deerfield for its de- 
fence. 

In May, 1691, William Jones, Esq., was chosen 
deputy-governor, in consequence of the death of 
Mr. Bishop ; and Captain Caleb Stanley was cho- 
sen a magistrate in his room. 

The colony was under great obligations to Mr. 
Increase Mather, of Boston, for the faithful and dis- 
interested exertions he had made in England for 
her good. Though he was employed by Massa- 
chusetts as her agent in London, he assiduously 
laboured for the benefit of the other colonies also 
whenever an opportunity occurred. When Will- 
iam and Mary came to the throne, he took such 
measures as prevented the bill to establish the gov- 
ernors of New-England from being adopted ; am 
he co-operated with Mr. Whiting, agent for Con 
necticut, to his utmost. The Assembly passed s 
vote of thanks to those gentlemen, and also to Mr. 
James Potter for similar services, while they de- 
sired them to procure from the king his approba- 
tion of the proceedings in Connecticut, and protec- 
tion in their privileges. There was great reason 
to hope for justice from such a monarch, who had 



216 THE FRENCH AND THE MOHAWKS. [1693. 

restored the charters of which James II. had so 
arbitrarily robbed the city of London and many 
other corporations in England. 

For the relief of the many families who had suf- 
fered from the Indians in the Eastern war, the 
Assembly recommended a contribution to be made 
in the colony, requesting ministers to urge upon 
the people the duty of aiding them. 

The town of Windham was incorporated in 
1692. It was bequeathed to John Mason, James 
Fitch, and fourteen others, in 1675. by Joshua, son 
of Uncas, with the present town of Mansfield ; and 
the settlement began about 1686. 

At the same session (1692) the Assembly or- 
dered that New-London should be fortified, and 
the fortifications of Saybrook should be repaired, 
under an apprehension that the French might re- 
turn to the coast. At the same time, in conse- 
quence of intelligence that a large body of French 
and Indians were preparing to come from Canada, 
scouts were ordered to scour the upper country, 
and arrangements were made to send out detach- 
ments of militia, when needed, with officers quali- 
fied to command them. These fears, however, 
were not realized by Connecticut : for Count Fron- 
tenac decided on beginning operations first against 
the Five Nations, when he found he could not per- 
suade them to join him, apprehending the repeti- 
tion of their invasions of the French settlements in 
Canada. On the 15th of January, 1693, he sent 
600 or 700 Frenchmen and Indians to take them 
by surprise ; who, after a distressing march, reach- 
ed the first Mohawk castle (or fortified village) on 
the 6th of February. This they captured, as well 



1693.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 217 

as two others, with but little loss, taking about 300 
prisoners. Most of the warriors were at Schenec 
tady, having no fear of an invasion in the dead of 
the winter. When the news reached Albany, Col- 
onel Schuyler immediately set off in pursuit of the 
retreating enemy with 200 volunteers ; and, with 
300 Indians, overtook them in a fortified camp. 
He repulsed them in three sallies : but, while wait- 
ing for a re-enforcement, they escaped in a snow- 
storm by night, and, crossing the north branch of 
the Hudson on a cake of ice, got safely back to 
Canada, leaving almost all their prisoners, and 
about 30 dead men. The latter were eaten by the 
pursuing Indians, who were suffering extremely 
from hunger. 

The Connecticut Assembly was immediately con. 
voked on the receipt of the news of the invasion ; 
150 men were ordered, on the 21st of February, to 
march to Albany ; and fifty of them set off the next 
day. A no less urgent demand was soon received 
from Sir William Phipps in Maine ; and the As- 
sembly again met in season to order out, on the 
6th of March, 60 Englishmen and about 40 Indians, 
under Captain William Whiting. A new request 
was made to Massachusetts to settle the boundary. 

But now a new source of trouble arose : for the 
new governor of New-York, Colonel Benjamin 
Fletcher, demanded the submission of the militia 
of Connecticut to his orders, being fully empowered 
by the king. The Assembly referred the question 
to the freemen, who gave a vote of 2180 against it, 
and in favour of sending a protest to England. 
Major-general Fitz John Winthrop was appointed 
the agent, and instructed to acquaint his majesty 
T 



218 SPIRITED CONDUCT OF WADSWORTH. [1693. 

with the inconsistency of such a power with the 
privileges granted by the charter, and to lay before 
him the true history and state of the colony. Sir 
William Phipps had before come out with similar 
authority : but he never had attempted to exercise 
it in Connecticut ; and the agent was instructed to 
declare, that if he had, it would never have been ac- 
knowledged without a direct reference to his majes- 
ty. In the mean time, Mr. William Pitkin was 
sent to New-York, to persuade Governor Fletcher 
to await the decision of the king : but he refused. 
The Assembly were in session at Hartford in Oc- 
tober, when he appeared there, and demanded that 
the militia should be placed at his command, as 
lieutenant of his majesty, and commander-in-chief 
of the land and sea forces ; and ordered that the 
militia of Hartford should assemble, that he might 
beat up for volunteers. The Assembly called them 
out, though they insisted that they would not yield 
the right of commanding them, so explicitly granted 
to them by the charter. He then directed Colonel 
Bayard to acquaint the Assembly with his deter- 
mination to leave the civil rights of the colony as 
he found them, but that they must admit that the 
king had an inherent right to command the militia, 
and that he should not leave them until they should 
acknowledge it. He offered a commission to Gov- 
ernor Treat, which he declined ; and the Assem- 
bly were equally unyielding. 

Tradition says that Colonel Fletcher ordered 
his commission to be read to the trainbands in 
Hartford, and that Captain Wadsworth, their se- 
nior officer, immediately directed the drummers to 
beat their drums. He, no doubt, well understood 



1694.] HISTORY OP CONNECTICUT. 219 

the determined spirit of the soldiers ; and, when 
Colonel Fletcher ordered silence, he called out, 
"Drum, drum, I say!" The drummers obeyed 
with great good-will, and did not cease till per- 
emptorily commanded by Colonel Fletcher. The 
resolute captain, as if imitating the example of Cap- 
tain Bull at Saybrook, when opposing the claims of 
Andross, called out again, "Drum, drum, I say!" 
and, turning to the intruder, said, with a threaten- 
ing look, " If I am interrupted again, I will make 
the sun shine through you in a moment." The in- 
dications of determined opposition were so strong, 
and so many people came flocking to Hartford, that 
Governor Fletcher preferred his more safe retreat 
at New-York, and departed with his attendants, 
without attempting anything farther. 



CHAPTER XXVIT. 1694. 

Military Preparations —The Question about the Militia settled 
in favour of Connecticut by the King —The County Courts. 
— Peace between France and England — Fitz John Winthrop 
Governor —The Lower House of Assembly. — New Town- 
ships.— The Western Boundary established by the King in 
1700 —Accession of Queen Anne to the British Throne — War 
declared against France and Spain in 1702, by England, Ger- 
many, and Holland. — Defensive Measures.— Governor Dud- 
lev and Lord Cornbury's Demand for Money. — Their Intrigues 
in England— Opposed by Sir Henry Ashurst.— A Book pub- 
lished against the Colony, entitled "The Doom, or Miseries of 
Connecticut." 

King William having sent a letter to Connecti- 
cut, stating that he had ordered Albany to be for- 
tified, and that this colony was to contribute to pay 



220 MILITARY PREPARATIONS. [1698. 

the expense, the Assembly was convoked in Feb- 
ruary, 1694, and granted £500 to be paid to Col- 
onel Fletcher. A penny was levied on the pound : 
the rateable polls being about £2347. 

Fears of a northern invasion being again ex- 
cited, the commissioned officers on the northern 
and western frontiers were ordered to be in readi- 
ness to send immediate aid to any place which 
might be attacked, and detachments of militia were 
provided with everything necessary. 

The gratifying news was received this year, that 
King William had determined the question between 
Connecticut and Colonel Fletcher in favour of the 
colony, after his attorney and solicitor general had 
assented to the justice of General Winthrop's argu- 
ments, and made their report. It was therefore 
settled that only a quota of 150 men should be 
placed under Fletcher's orders, and that the militia 
should remain at the direction of the governor. A 
number of troops were soon sent to attend a treaty 
with the Five Nations. 

This year the north line was run by a committee, 
which Massachusetts would not assist in nor ac- 
knowledge. In 1696 Captain Whiting was sent 
to Albany with 60 men, and 40 dragoons marched 
to Hampshire county : but, in 1697, the Assembly 
declined sending such a body as Massachusetts re- 
quested, to assist in attacking the eastern Indians. 
They, however, agreed to send about 60 English 
and 40 Indians to range the woods and to protect 
Hampshire county. 

In 1698 it was ordered that each county court 
should consist of one chief judge and four justices 
of the quorum, appointed by the Assembly. Gen- 



1697.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 221 

eral Winthrop, on his return from England, re- 
ceived a vote of thanks and a present of £300 for 
his services. On the 2d of April, General Win. 
throp, Major Sillick, and the Rev. Mr. Saltonstall 
presented the congratulations of Connecticut to 
Lord Bellamont, who had arrived at New-York as 
governor of that colony and Massachusetts ; and 
he expressed great satisfaction at the courteous 
manners of the committee, especially of the dig- 
nified demeanour of the venerable minister. And 
now, the question of the Rhode Island boundary 
being again agitated, by a call from the Board of 
Trade and Plantations, a committee was appointed 
to attend to it. 

The news of peace between England and France, 
which was settled by the treaty of Riswick on the 
11th of September, 1697, was hailed with great 
joy in Connecticut ; and, on counting up what the 
war had cost her, it was thought that it exceeded 
£12,000. Of this, £7000 was spent in defending 
Albany and Hampshire county. The unreason- 
able alarm repeatedly felt by Governor Phipps had 
caused much unnecessary trouble : for he had 
made requisitions, sent orders and countermanded 
them on many trifling rumours ; and, had the war 
continued, great vexations would have arisen from 
this source, although he had been complained of 
to the king. 

The Assembly appointed a day of thanksgiving, 
to express gratitude to Almighty God for the ines- 
timable blessing of peace, of which they had been 
deprived by no act and with no desire of their 
own. General Fitz John Winthrop was chosen 
governor this year, and Governor Treat deputy- 
T2 



222 CAPT. KIDD, THE PIRATE. [1699. 

governor, William Jones, Esq., having retired, at 
the age of 72. The Assembly was now divided 
into two houses : the upper to consist of the gov- 
ernor, or the deputy. governor, and the magistrates, 
and the lower of the deputies. The latter were 
to appoint their speaker and make their own by- 
laws. The consent of both houses was required 
for the passage of any law. It was also ordained 
that a county court should consist of one chief 
judge and two justices of the quorum. 

The lower house of Assembly was first formed 
in 1699, and chose Mr. John Chester speaker, and 
Captain Whiting clerk. The clergy were this year 
exempted from taxation by an act of the Assembly. 
The settlement of Durham was commenced this 
year, under the name of Cogingchaug ; and Plain- 
field was incorporated. 

A pirate named William Kidd (more familiarly 
known as Captain Kidd) before this time had occa- 
sionally resorted to Long Island Sound. Attempts 
have since been made in many places, both on 
the mainland and on the islands, to discover the 
treasure which he is said to have concealed in the 
earth, though without any success. The marks of 
excavations are very numerous in some of the 
Thimble Islands off Branford, where several places 
still bear his name. His history has been kept alive 
by an old ballad, in which he is misnamed Rob- 
ert Kidd. He sailed in a privateer sloop named the 
Antonio, turned pirate, and committed many mur- 
ders as well as robberies. He intrusted with Mr. 
John Gardiner, of Gardiner's Island, a large amount 
of property, among which was about 150 ounces 
of gold-dust, and 590 in gold bars, besides coined 



1700.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 223 

money, precious stones, &c. These were buried 
by Kidd in a large iron chest in a swamp on that 
island ; and he told Mr. Gardiner that he must an- 
swer for its safe-keeping with his head. 

A short time after this he was captured and con- 
demned at Boston for piracy ; and the property 
was delivered at the order of Lord Bellamont in 
1699. 

It is impossible to determine when the people of 
Connecticut began to manufacture some of their 
most important articles, and to what extent they 
increased. Convenience and necessity, with their 
intelligence, and industrious and frugal habits, must 
have disposed them to make many things which 
they at first received from England. The English 
manufacturers and merchants were early alarmed 
by the fear of losing the profits of supplying the 
colonies, and sent many petitions to Parliament to 
restrict them. In later times we may trace the 
revolution, in a great degree, to a similar commer- 
cial jealousy. This year Parliament declared 
"that no wool, yarn, or woollen manufactures of 
the American plantations should be shipped there, 
or even laden, in order to be transported from 
thence to any place whatever." 

The boundary between the colony and New-York, 
as it had been agreed on by commissioners in 1683, 
was established by King William in 1700. But it 
was twenty-five years before any part of the line 
was run, viz., in the reign of George I , when, in 
compliance with the petition of Connecticut, a royal 
order having been issued to New-York, her legis- 
lature appointed commissioners. These met, with 
those of Connecticut, at Greenwich, in May, 1725, 



224 NEW TOWNS INCORPORATED. [1702. 

and began the line, which was finished on the 14th 
of May, 1731, and a complete settlement made. 
New. York relinquished certain lands along the 
Sound, in consideration of which, Connecticut gave 
up " the Oblong :" a tract of 60,000 acres, which 
may be seen marked out on many maps on the 
western boundary. 

A township six miles square was granted to 
Captain Thomas Lefnngwell, Mr. John Frink,and 
other volunteers who had served in Narraganset 
in Philip's war, to be chosen out of the conquered 
country. Four years after, Voluntown was con- 
firmed to them, being bounded by a line drawn 
north from the pond at the head of Pawcatuck 
River to Greenwich path, thence west to Preston, 
and, for the remaining bounds, by Preston, Sto- 
nington, and Pawcatuck River. A considerable 
tract was added on the north nineteen years after, 
ward. 

It was ordered this year that the Assembly 
should meet at New-Haven, in future, in October ; 
and that the court of magistrates also should be 
held there on the first Tuesday of that month. 

Queen Anne came to the throne this year, and 
addressed a letter to the colony, to which the As- 
sembly made a loyal reply. 

Danbury and Mansfield were incorporated in 
1702. A patent was given to New. London, and a 
tract added on the north, from the northeast corner 
of Lyme to the southwest corner of Norwich, as it 
goes to Trading Cove. An act was passed by the 
Assembly confirming all patents given to towns 
and sequestrations made of land. 

But now the colony was disturbed in the enjoy- 



1704.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 225 

ment of that peace which they had so much desired, 
and again involved in a war, brought upon it through 
its dependance on the mother country. In May, 
1702, war was declared against France and Spain 
by the Queen of England, the Emperor of Germany, 
and the States-General of Holland ; and Connecti- 
cut, as well as the other colonies, was involved in 
its losses and dangers. Governor Dudley and the 
Massachusetts court asked the Assembly, in Octo- 
ber, to send 100 men against the eastern Indians ; 
soldiers were sent to protect the western towns; 
and a committee of war was appointed, to send 
others to the frontier and Hampshire county. 

A special committee was appointed in 1704, to 
prevent the friendly Indians from joining or co-op. 
erating with the enemy. The inhabitants of every 
town were required to meet and consider the best 
manner of fortifying it ; and commissioned officers 
were authorized to send out half the militia to re- 
pel any sudden attack, and to pursue the enemy. 
One hundred men were ordered out for Governor 
Dudley in the east, and sixty for Hampshire coun- 
ty chiefly, to be under the command of the commit- 
tee of war and the commanding officer there. 
County committees were appointed, to consult for 
the public safety ; and persons and families were 
forbidden to desert any frontier town, without per- 
mission from the Assembly, under penalty of the 
loss of their freehold property there. Indians also 
were enlisted for scouts. The number of troops 
now kept on foot was 500 ; viz., 100 in the east, 
and 400 for the defence of the colony and Hamp- 
shire country ; and the latter were provided with 
snow-shoes, that they might be ready for service at 
all seasons. 



226 TROUBLE CAUSED BY GOV. DUDLEY. [1704. 

A king's attorney was ordered to be appointed 
by each county court, to prosecute criminal offend- 
ers ; and these attorneys were required to be not 
only moral, but religious men. 

The colony, in the midst of these trials and ex- 
penses, was much harassed by urgent demands for 
money by Governor Dudley, of Massachusetts, and 
Lord Cornbury, governor of New. York and New- 
Jersey. They stated that it was needed for the de- 
fence of their governments : but of this they gave 
no proof. The former appears to have been a man 
of an ambitious and domineering character, and 
versed in the arts of intrigue ; and, while he grasp, 
ed at the control of all New-England, he persuaded 
Lord Cornbury to favour his measures, under the 
hope of being made governor of Connecticut and 
the southern colonies. Having been connected 
with Sir Edmund Andross in the days of his mis- 
rule, he was an enemy to all the civil and religious 
rights so steadily maintained by the people of Con- 
necticut. He opposed every plan suggested in 
England for the benefit of the colonies ; and had 
succeeded in getting a strong party in Parliament 
to favour the concentration of the government of 
them all in one person, and superseding the char- 
ters, and had a bill prepared for that purpose in the 
reign of King William. It was introduced into 
Parliament soon after Queen Anne's accession ; 
and the preamble declared that the charters granted 
to the New-England colonies, East and West New- 
Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Carolina, the Ba= 
hama and Lucay Islands, were repugnant to trade 
and the interests of the other colonies, favourable to 
piracy, &c. 



1704.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 227 

What this artful and indefatigable enemy might 
have accomplished if unopposed, we cannot with 
certainty determine. Fortunately, he had an up- 
right and skilful antagonist in Sir Henry Ashurst, 
the agent for Connecticut in London, who pre- 
sented a petition or remonstrance to the Lords, 
representing the injustice and injury with which 
the bill was pregnant, stating that the charter was 
inseparably interwoven with the state of things, 
and could not be taken away without greatly in- 
juring property as well as the rights of the people, 
and introducing confusion, if not ruin. Sir Henry 
obtained a hearing at the bar of the House, in be- 
half of the colony, on the third of May, 1701 ; and, 
having honourable connexions, ability, and the aid 
of a righteous cause, he placed the character and 
claims of Connecticut in an elevated point of view 
before the members, and made such an impression 
that the ambitious Dudley was entirely defeated : 
for his bill was rejected by the Parliament. 

But he was not disheartened by this failure ; and 
Lord Cornbury stood by to second him in a new 
attack upon the rights and privileges of the colo- 
nies. They were both imboldened by the con- 
sciousness that they had powerful acquaintances 
and connexions in England, and that there were 
some disaffected men in America. Dudley had 
many friends at court ; and Cornbury was nearly 
related to the queen, as well as to several persons 
who held unfounded claims for land in the con- 
quered country, or had appealed to England from 
decisions of the colonial courts, and were disposed 
to make common cause with any opponent of the 
existing order of things. Among these dissatis- 



228 mason's land-claim. [1704. 

fied persons were Messrs. Nicholas Hallam, Major 
Palms, Captain Mason, and Daniel Clark. They 
all might expect much personal advantage from 
the success of an impeachment of the colony, 
which was now resolved on. Lord Cornbury was 
poor, and, wanting money, would have been glad 
to have the power to force out of Connecticut the 
sums he had been refused. 

The first step, therefore, was to make out a set 
of charges ; and this work was committed by Gov- 
ernor Dudley to one Bulkley, who wrote a large 
folio volume, entitled " The Doom ; or, Miseries of 
Connecticut," abounding in misrepresentations, and 
highly extolling the government of Andross. With 
his customary duplicity, Governor Dudley all this 
time treated Connecticut with courtesy and marks 
of friendship, and once wrote a letter in which he 
gave them thanks for the abundant supplies with 
which they had furnished him, though it was one 
of his charges that they had withholden them. 



CHAPTER XXVIII. 1704. 

Owaneco, the Mohegan Sachem, incited by disaffected Persons 
to urge unfounded Claims to Lands purchased by the Colony. 
— Governor Dudley appointed, with a Court, to try them. — 
The Land Claim of the Mason Family.— The Charges made 
by Governor Dudley brought to a hearing before the Queen 
in Council.— Decided in favour of the Colony.— Governor 
Dudley holds his Court, which gives a Decision in favour of 
Owaneco, treating the Colony with Contempt.— Public Em- 
barrassments. 

In the mean time, the Assembly had exerted 
themselves to satisfy the claims of Owaneco and 



1704.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 229 

the other Mohegans about their lands ; and, with 
the greatest fairness and liberality, had made him 
an offer of a sum of money, with which he was 
perfectly content. But Mason and his friends 
contrived to render him dissatisfied, so that he 
refused to make any arrangement. One of the 
prominent charges made by Dudley against the 
colony was, that they had treated the Mohegans 
with injustice, particularly in conveying away all 
their lands in the late grant and patent to New. 
London: while the fact was, with their uniform 
regard to justice and humanity towards that tribe, 
they had carefully guarded the property and priv- 
ileges of the Indians. 

These and other misrepresentations respecting 
the Mohegans greatly deceived Queen Anne and 
her councillors, so that she appointed Governor 
Dudley, Thomas Povey, Esq., lieutenant-governor 
of Massachusetts, Major Palms, and nine others, to 
examine and determine the whole affair, with lib- 
erty for any one to appeal to her majesty in coun- 
cil. This led the colony into a long and expensive 
controversy, which was wilfully brought upon it by 
its enemies : for, when a committee, sent by the 
Assembly this year to inquire and report, visited 
Owaneco, he refused to confer with them unless in 
the presence of Major Palms, while the latter ab- 
sented himself at Boston, as if purposely to defeat 
their object. 

The family of Deputy. governor Mason claimed 
the lands which he had purchased, under a deed 
from Uncas, given him in 1659, while acting as 
agent of the colony. They denied the legality of 
the surrender which he had made of them the fol- 
U 



230 HEARING BEFORE THE QUEEN. [1705. 

lowing year. This surrender he made to the Gen- 
eral Assembly, as he was bound to do, after having 
acted for them. They claimed, however, that he 
did not resign the property, but only the right of 
jurisdiction : a ground highly improbable, and to. 
tally inadmissible in the circumstances, in the ab. 
scence of all evidence in its favour. 

The 12th of February, 1705, was an important 
day for Connecticut : for the queen, without their 
knowledge, had appointed it for the time of hear- 
ing the charges of Governors Dudley and Corn, 
bury. Sir Henry Ashurst had in vain endeav- 
oured to obtain a postponement, that the colony 
might have time to send an answer ; and, although 
the complainants had made all their arrangements, 
the case was to proceed without allowing any op* 
portunity to prepare for a defence. The burden, 
therefore, fell upon Sir Henry ; and he exerted 
himself with a degree of faithfulness and skill 
which should ever render his name honourable 
in the eyes of posterity. He obtained all the 
aid possible ; and, being a brother by marriage to 
Lord Paget, that nobleman rendered him impor- 
tant assistance. The queen had been presented 
by Dudley with the opinion of King William's at- 
torney-general, which said "that he might send a 
governor to Connecticut;" and with another from 
her attorney and solicitor general, which declared 
*' that, if it were as Governor Dudley had represent- 
ed, there was a defect in the government : that the 
colony was not able to defend itself, and in immi- 
nent danger of being possessed by the queen's en- 
emies : and that, in such a case, the queen might 



1705*] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 231 

aend a governor for civil and military government ; 
but not to alter the laws and customs." 

Sir Henry, having been cited to appear and show 
reasons why a governor should not be appointed, 
occupied the queen and council an hour and a half 
with facts and arguments to prove that things were 
not " as Governor Dudley had represented, but, in 
many respects, quite the opposite." He showed 
what powers were conferred by the charter, and 
how some of the acts charged against the Assem- 
bly, as cases of unwarrantable assumption of au- 
thority, were perfectly right, and proofs of their 
faithfulness and zeal. Their refusal to give up the 
command of the militia to the governors, which had 
been much objected to, he proved to be perfectly 
right. One of the charges was, that the courts 
were irregular and unjust. To this Sir Henry 
gave a most conclusive reply : that, in every case 
of appeal to the crown, their decisions had been 
approved. Of course, nothing farther could be 
said against them. But Governor Dudley loudly 
complained of instances of the refusal to furnish 
the men and money which had been called for. 
To this it was replied, that the charter did not re- 
quire them to send troops in such a case ; for they 
were under no obligation to obey the governors of 
other colonies, any farther than the crown should 
command. With regard to the supplies of money 
to Lord Cornbury, the Assembly, according to his 
lordship's own letter, had sent to her majesty to 
know her will. The replies of Sir Henry to other 
charges were not less direct and satisfactory than 
tfaese ; and he added that, if governors should be 
appointed to the colonies, there would surely be no 



232 DECISION BY THE QUEEN. [1705. 

less exposure to abuses, since the assemblies now 
stood ready to check them : but that the tempta- 
tions would be increased by broader powers and 
diminished responsibility. He said that, in any 
case of impeachment of a governor, opportunity 
would doubtless be given him to be heard ; and 
justice required that Connecticut should now en- 
joy the same right. 

This manly defence had the desired effect : for, 
after a full hearing, it was determined that the Lords 
of Trade should send to the governor of Connecti- 
cut the principal charges made against her ; and 
that the colony, as well as Dudley and Cornbury, 
should transmit their communications properly 
sealed and certified. This regular and public 
manner of proceeding was of all best calcula- 
ted to suit the interests and feelings of Connecti- 
cut, and least palatable to her dishonest accusers. 
They had no evidence to produce which could bear 
a fair scrutiny, and had relied on making false im- 
pressions to gain their end. Connecticut, on the 
other hand, only needed time to make out a full 
account of facts, and to collect and authenticate 
the abundant testimony that was ready to be fur- 
nished, in order to present a mass of proof which 
could not be resisted. In fact, it effected the ruin 
to the one cause and the triumph of the other. 

Connecticut, proved that, instead of being unable 
to provide for the defence of her soil, or willing to 
decline any reasonable demand to protect her 
neighbours, she had then and in the preceding year 
between 500 and 600 men in actual service ; that 
400 of them had been chiefly employed for the 
defence of Massachusetts and New- York ; and her 



1705. J HISTORY OP CONNECTICUT. 233 

committee of war had conferred and acted spir- 
itedly and harmoniously with officers and com- 
missioners of Massachusetts. One of the docu- 
ments sent to England to substantiate these facts 
was a letter in Governor Dudley's own hand, thank, 
ing Connecticut for her prompt and generous as- 
sistance in war. Many letters have been kept on 
file, as Trumbull remarks, in the office of the sec- 
retary of state in Hartford, from commanders, cit- 
izens, and clergymen in Hampshire county, pro- 
ving the generous energy with which the colony 
had repeatedly afforded them important aid. In- 
deed, it was unanimously proved that, while Con- 
necticut had a circulating currency worth scarcely 
£2000, she rendered assistance to Massachusetts 
and New. York, in three years, at an expense of 
more than that sum. 

In the mean time, the accusing governors at- 
tempted to excite the feelings of the Friends or 
Quakers of England against the colony. Dudley 
had communicated a copy of an ancient law of 
Connecticut to the English Friends. The law had 
been passed about 50 years, when the Quakers 
were confounded with disorderly fanatics, and mis- 
understood. It had never been acted on, and was 
quite obsolete. A petition was sent to her majes- 
ty for the repeal of the law, as it denounced se- 
vere penalties against persons of that sect, or, 
rather, as Sir Henry Ashurst declared (in a peti- 
tion to the Lords of Trade), against Adamites and 
Ranters. The queen, without allowing time for 
Connecticut to reply, annulled the law. 

But Dudley was preparing for another step, to 
give the colony more trouble in her own territory. 
U2 



234 governor Dudley's court. [1705. 

Having been appointed president of the court 
formed by the queen to try the cause relating to 
the Mohegan country, he met the members at Sto- 
nington on the 23d of August, 1705. A survey 
had been made in July of the extensive tract in 
dispute, although an officer sent by the governor 
had forbidden it. The territory claimed was the 
whole of the Pequod country, except the principal 
residences of the tribe, which were certain tracts 
in New-London, Groton, and Stonington. The 
bounds of it were as follows : from a large rock 
in Connecticut River, near Eight-mile Island, in 
Lyme, eastward to Ah-yo-sup-puk Pond in Stoning- 
ton ; north to Mah- man-suck Pond ; thence to the 
Whetstone Hills, or Egunk-sank-a-pong, and the 
Whetstone country, or Ma-hum-squeeg ; thence 
southwest to the upper falls of Quinebaug River; 
nearly west to the Notch in the Mountain in Bol- 
ton, or Mo-she-nup-suck ; and southerly back to 
the great rock in Lyme. Most of that part of the 
state which lay north of this tract, as has been be- 
fore stated, the Mohegans claimed as conquered 
country, and called it Wabbequasset. 

Governor Dudley's court consisted of himself, 
Edward Palms, Giles Sylvester, Jahaleel Brenton, 
Nathaniel Byfield, Thomas Hooker, James Avery, 
John Avery, John Morgan, and Thomas Leffing. 
well. The court summoned the Governor and 
Company of Connecticut to attend, and all parties 
concerned : but the government, not having been 
furnished with a copy of the commission under 
which they acted, sent a committee to attend, with 
instructions to answer, in case their object were to 
make inquiry merely ; but, if they designed to de- 



1705.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 235 

cide the question, to retire, and to forbid all people 
of the colony to bear witness, plead, or answer be- 
fore them. The committee not only declined an- 
swering, but drew up a protest ; and the people in- 
terested in the lands failed to appear. The court, 
therefore, after a partial hearing of only a single 
day, with Owaneco sitting in stale on the right 
hand of the president, with no evidence, claims, or 
opinions before them except those of interested 
persons and enemies of the colony, pronounced 
judgment, in violation of fair purchases, patents, 
deeds, rights of conquest, and possession. They 
gave to Owaneco a large tract in New-London, be- 
sides the tract of 1100 acres added to it in 1703 ; 
nine miles by two in Lyme ; and all Colchester. 
They also filed a bill of costs of £573 12s. 8d. 
against the colony. 

The court afterward gave a hearing of three 
days to Owaneco, Mason, and other complainants ; 
after which they represented to the queen that 
Owaneco had been disseized of about 7000 acres 
of land north of Windham, and another in Plain- 
field ; and that encroachments had been made by 
Lebanon, Windham, and Canterbury. They for- 
bade all persons to enter upon them until a farther 
hearing and determination of the case. They also 
appointed Captain Mason trustee or guardian of 
Owaneco and his people, and pretended that the 
Mohegans had been greatly oppressed : though 
100 warriors (two thirds of the whole) cheerfully 
enlisted in the service this year, as they had done 
the last, showing that no dissatisfaction existed 
among them. Even Owaneco himself often ap- 
peared well content, except when under the im. 



236 THE CLAIM REFUSED. [1706. 

mediate influence of those who excited his jealousy 
from interested motives. Indeed, he had no good 
reason for dissatisfaction : for the government had 
treated him, as well as Uncas, with uniform justice 
and kindness, paying liberally for what land they 
had purchased, performing all their stipulations, 
and more than once interfering for the preserva- 
tion of the tribe when in danger of subjugation or 
extirpation. Instead of not leaving the Mohegans 
land enough to plant, they had reserved between 
4000 and 5000 acres for them between New-Lon- 
don and Norwich, strictly reserved and guarded 
in the patent granted to New-London. Nor had 
Connecticut exercised this liberality exclusively to- 
wards her most faithful ally, the Mohegan nation : 
reservations were made for the other Indians re- 
maining in her territory ; and all of them had the 
privilege of hunting and fishing everywhere, and 
of building wigwams, and cutting wood and tim- 
ber in all unenclosed lands. 

The court of Governor Dudley adjourned till 
May, 1706 : but it never assembled again. The 
Assembly, in October, appointed a committee to in- 
quire into the Indian affairs, and send information 
to Sir Henry Ashurst ; and he made so full a rep- 
resentation of facts relating to them, and to the 
intrigues, false charges, and other proceedings of 
governors Dudley and Cornbury, that the queen, 
after some time, appointed a commission of review. 
This commission determined, but so late as 1645, 
in favour of Connecticut ; as was done at every 
legal hearing. It was, however, nearly seventy 
years before the case was finally settled, in the 
reign of George III. 



1706.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 237 

In the year 1706, the same measures were taken 
as before for defence within and without the colony. 
The agent in England assured the Assembly that 
Connecticut could not be required to furnish more 
than a mere quota of troops at the requisition of 
the governor of another colony : yet, notwithstand- 
ing this, and the vexations to which they had been 
subject, they showed as much zeal for her service 
as ever. The embarrassments under which this 
was done, at the same time, greatly enhanced the 
testimony which it bore to the loyalty and liberal 
spirit of the colony : for the people were greatly 
impoverished by the many untoward events of past 
months. The taxes of about three years had 
amounted to more than two shillings on a pound, 
or ten per cent, of all taxable property ; and mon- 
ey was so scarce that payments were made in the 
products of farms, such as beef, pork, grain, &c, 
which were received, sold in Boston or the West 
Indies, and cash or bills of exchange were thus 
obtained, to pay the debts of the colony at home 
and abroad. 

The peculiarly trying and dangerous period 
through which we have thus accompanied the col- 
ony, with such particularity as its importance and 
interest required, deserves to be held in remem- 
brance, and often contemplated by the present 
generation, who share the benefits of her success. 
We see the defenders of her institutions beset by a 
succession of threatening dangers, some of them 
of a nature as unexpected as alarming, yet dis- 
playing the equanimity, moderation, fortitude, and 
perseverance which were so characteristic of that 
people, and persisting to the last in asserting, 



238 FEARS OF AN INDIAN WAR. [1707. 

claiming, proving, and maintaining their rights. 
In the whole progress of the business, they exhib- 
ited that intelligent discrimination which is the 
legitimate result of a system of sound education in 
human learning and in the Word of God, and which 
may be looked for in vain in those countries in 
which these inestimable privileges are not enjoyed 
by the people at large. It was education, in its ex- 
tensive sense, which, under the blessing of God, so 
often prevented the people of Connecticut from be- 
ing hurried into fatal mistakes, and sinking into 
that lethargic indifference to their rights and in- 
terests which has proved fatal to so many other 
states and people. Paramount to all, they pos- 
sessed that unshaken confidence in the Almighty 
which they had been so well taught by the exam- 
ple of their fathers, and which led them to notice 
every important turn in the aspect of affairs with 
devout and humble submission to God. 



CHAPTER XXIX. 1707. 

A new Alarm of a French and Indian Invasion. — Neighbouring 
Indians suspected and watched — Governor Saltonstal I elected 
on the Death of Governor Winthrop. — General Nicholson's 
Expedition against the French in 1709. — His Army is wasted 
by Sickness at Wood Creek, while waiting fur the British 
Fleet. — It does not arrive. — The first Paper Money issued by 
Connecticut — Karly Printing in Connecticut.— Spirit of the 
French in their Incursions. — The Colonies compelled to seek 
their Reduction for Self-preservation. 

About the beginning of the year 1707, Mr. 
Treat and Major Schuyler sent letters informing 



1707.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 239 

the government, that the French and Indians were 
again mustering their forces to invade the colonies, 
which caused new alarm. A council of war met 
on the 6th of February at Hartford ; and the alarm 
was increased by a suspicion that the Pohtatuck 
and Owiantuck Indians were ready to join the en* 
emy on their appearance. 

Orders were given to fortify the western towns, 
which were then on the frontier of New. York, viz., 
Simsbury, Waterbury, Woodbury, and Danbury, 
and to keep daily scouts of two men in each, to 
give the earliest information of the approach of an 
enemy. The suspected Indians, or, at least, their 
chief men, were ordered to be removed to Strat* 
ford and Fairfield. 

To give the enemy employment at home, or, 
rather, to drive the French from Canada, Governor 
Dudley wrote to Connecticut that he proposed to 
send 1000 men against L'Acadie, or their eastern 
possessions, and invited her to co-operate : but this 
was declined, partly because the other colonies ap- 
peared not to have been invited. 

Governor Fitz John Winthrop died this year ; 
and a special meeting of the Assembly was called 
in December, at which the Rev. Gurdon Saltonstall 
was elected in his place. Governor Winthrop was 
one of the most distinguished, useful, and popular 
men of the colony. He was born at Ipswich, Mas* 
sachusetts, in 1638, and son of the first governor 
of Connecticut under the charter. He became a 
magistrate in 1689, major-general of the army 
against Canada in 1690, agent to England in 
1694, and governor in 1698 ; after which he was 
annually re-elected to the chief-magistracy until 



240 THE SAYBROOK PLATFORM. [1707. 

his death. The Assembly repealed the law re- 
quiring a candidate for governor to be first nomi- 
nated from among the magistrates. At the elec- 
tion in May, Governor Saltonstall was re-elected 
by the freemen ; and, Mr. Treat having retired 
from office at the age of 86, Nathan Gould was 
chosen deputy-governor. 

Jonathan Scott and his two sons were taken cap- 
tive in a meadow in Waterbury by a few Indians, 
who carried them to Canada. They were after- 
ward redeemed and returned, except the younger 
son, who chose to live with the savages. - In 1700, 
during an attack by the Indians, a man named 
Holt was killed on Mount Toby. 

Hebron, New-Fairfield, Newtown, and Killingly 
were incorporated in 1706 and 1707. 

The churches first formed in Connecticut were 
Congregational, according to the plan or platform 
adopted at Cambridge. Every organized band of 
Christians they regarded as a church, invested 
with power to manage its own concerns, accord- 
ing to the system which they believed to have been 
established by the apostles. The pastor and ruling 
elders proposed measures to the members, which 
they agreed to or rejected. At the same time, the 
churches were not considered independent in all 
respects, but bound to maintain fellowship with 
each other, and consult and give advice in cases 
of difficulty. As the Cambridge platform, how- 
ever, did not make precise provision for the as- 
sembling of councils of advice, the trustees of the 
college proposed that a meeting of ministers should 
be held to remedy the evil ; and, in 1708, a plan 
was adopted at Saybrook, on the general principles 



1708.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 241 

of that of Cambridge. This was known by the 
name of the Saybrook Platform ; and was imme- 
diately adopted by the churches. The General 
Assembly passed a resolution, declaring that they 
wished to see every church in the enjoyment of 
perfect freedom of conscience, and were gratified 
that a measure had been taken so well calculated to 
promote harmony and improvement. 

About the year 1708 or 1709 Thomas Short, 
the first printer in Connecticut, took up his resi- 
dence hi New- London. He printed the Saybrook 
Platform in 1710, the first book ever printed in the 
colony, and died soon after. In 1713, the Assem- 
bly induced Timothy Green to remove to that 
town to do the public printing. Printing was be- 
gun in New-London forty-five years earlier than 
any other part of Connecticut. 

In 1706 the clergy were declared by law to be 
free from taxation. This year the Assembly or- 
dered that the " ministers of the Gospel preach a 
sermon to the freemen on the day appointed by 
law to choose their civil rulers, in the towns where 
they meet, proper for their direction in the work 
before them ;" and it cannot be doubted that the 
practice long had a happy influence in preserving 
the purity of elections, by impressing the people 
and their officers with a becoming regard for their 
duties in the sight of God. Party-spirit, selfish 
views in seeking and exercising offices, and that 
political madness which sometimes hurries a ma- 
jority towards ruin, cannot be long and success- 
fully guarded against without religious principle. 

The same military arrangements were made as 
last year : but in October it was ordered that gar- 
X 



242 A FRUITLESS EXPEDITION. [1709, 

risons should be kept at the public expense : two 
at Simsbury and two at Waterbury ; and that 
Woodbury and Danbury should be garrisoned, if 
the council of war should so direct. 

An expedition against Canada, L'Acadie, and 
Newfoundland was proposed by the queen in 1709, 
consisting of a squadron, with five regiments and a 
provincial army, of which she required Connecticut 
to raise 350 men. The eastern colonies were to 
raise 1200 men, and furnish them with transports, 
boats, and provisions for three months ; and these 
forces were to go by sea to attack Quebec ; while 
1500 men from New- York, New-Jersey, and the 
southern colonies, including those from Connecti- 
cut, were to make a descent on the island of Mont- 
real. Colonel Whiting was soon put in command 
of the troops raised in Connecticut; and all the 
other colonies, except Pennsylvania, complied with 
the queen's orders. Connecticut issued bills of 
credit at a special Assembly in June. The land- 
army, un-der General Francis Nicholson, marched 
to Wood Creek, and waited for the fleet to arrive 
at Boston (but waited in vain) until autumn; when, 
after losing about one quarter of their number by 
disease, and no news being received, the army re- 
turned to Albany. The fleet had been sent to as- 
sist the Portuguese, the allied armies in Europe 
having been greatly reduced. Thus another fruit- 
less campaign, into which the colonies were drawn 
by the disputes of Europe, brought great calamities 
upon them, with no benefit. War, in almost all 
its forms, is a scourge of man ; and one of its 
worst influences is that upon public morals. We 
shall see hereafter that this effect was greatly de- 



1709.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 243 

plored. Connecticut lost above ninety soldiers in 
this expensive season ; and some of the survivors, 
no doubt, returned home deteriorated in character 
by a summer spent in idleness, and among the so- 
ciety of such men as have composed the bulk of 
most armies. 

The colony had now in circulation the first pa- 
per money ever issued by it. The act declared, 
" That, to assist in the expedition, for want of mon- 
ey otherwise to carry it on, there be forthwith im- 
printed a certain number of bills of credit on the 
colony, in suitable sums, from two shillings to five 
pounds, which, in the whole, shall amount to the 
sum of ,£8000 and no more." They were to be 
received at the treasury as one shilling on the 
pound better than money, though issued at par ; 
only £4000 was to be issued at first ; and taxes 
were laid for the payment of £4000 in one year, 
and the other £4000 in two years. Probably the 
people found this money very convenient, and, of 
course, useful, instead of the exchange of com- 
modities to which they had been accustomed. 
This plan was afterward adopted many times ; 
and, when the colony was unable to pay its notes, 
embarrassment of course ensued. 

The wars between the colonies and the French 
grew out of the claim which both England and 
France made to the territory occupied by the lat- 
ter. The European nations which had engaged in 
the settlement of America, had agreed to acknowl- 
edge each others' claims so far as they were found- 
ed on first discovery. But there was often some 
room left for pretexts on which more than one 
might claim a particular region. The discoverers 



244 NATURE OF THE FRENCH WARS. [1709. 

themselves did not know the form or extent of the 
lands they had discovered, especially in the interior ; 
and this was as true of the English discoverers as 
of any. Still, if the French had been inclined to 
practise Christian honesty, and credited the reports 
of the old English discoverers, they would have 
laid no claim to the countries which they occupied 
north of the English colonies. On the other hand, 
if both parties had been inclined to peace, and so 
honourable as to prefer justice to gain, they would 
doubtless have submitted the question to the de- 
cision of some disinterested umpire, if such could 
have been found. But, in the changeable and gen- 
erally hostile relations of the two nations, this was 
hardly possible. It would have been reasonable, 
however, to expect of both parties humanity to- 
wards each other. But the French early began to 
excite the savages against the English colonists ; 
and, for about 100 years, wars were carried on 
against them of the most treacherous and cruel 
nature. The French rulers in Canada would per- 
suade the Indians to burn their settlements, and 
murder or carry away the people, men, women, 
and children ; and this they practised in numerous 
instances. Had the English colonists followed 
their example with their spirit, we should have had 
reason to blush for them, and to expect the punish- 
ment of God to be visited severely upon their de- 
scendants. But the French settlements were never 
harassed in that wanton and bloodthirsty manner. 
Who ever heard of French women or children ta- 
ken by our fathers by surprise or ambush, carried 
to Massachusetts or Connecticut, treated as slaves, 
and sold back to their friends at exorbitant prices? 
What Englishman, especially what English minis- 



1709.] 



HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 245 



ter,ever led a band of Indians against a defenceless 
French village in the night, to burn, murder, and 
make captives, insulting or tomahawking those 
with whom they were at enmity 1 This was what 
the French, and even their priests, often did, and 
excited the Indians to do. So long had the colo- 
nists suffered from injuries of this kind, that they 
thought themselves justifiable, in the sight of the 
God they served, in endeavours to check the power 
of their enemies by force. They did not attempt 
to make reprisals, nor take up arms in revenge : 
their principles would not allow them to take such 
a course ; and history proves how firmly they ad- 
hered to the rules of the Gospel. Consequently, 
while their descendants in the ancient frontier 
towns may trace the scenes of severe contests and 
dreadful sufferings, there is hardly to be found, on 
any part of the French frontier, a place spotted 
with the blood of innocent men, women, or children, 
wantonly shed by their hands. 



CHAPTER XXX. 1709. 

Application to the Queen for Aid against Canada, and a Prom- 
ise obtained - Preparations made.— 'The Fleet arrives ill pre- 
pared, and wiih limited instructions.— Port Royal captured. — 
General Nicholson makes a new Application to her Majesty. 
— Another Fleet arrives, but unprovided — it is half destroyed 
by a Storm, on the way to attack the Enemy. — The Boundary 
of Connecticut and Massachusetts amicably settled by Com- 
missioners m 17 IX— The Rhode Island Boundary Line — The 
Peace of Utrecht, in 1713, causes great Joy. — Population. — 
Finances.— Other Statistics. 

Notwithstanding the failure of the expedition 

of 1609, the governors of the colonies agreed to 

X2 



246 A NEW EXPEDITION. [1710. 

hold a meeting, to consult on another. They 
met at Rehoboth, Massachusetts, in October, with 
several officers, and addressed the queen in a let- 
ter, which the Assembly of Connecticut approved ; 
and Governor Saltonstall was appointed to take a 
similar one to England. He, however, did not go : 
but General Nicholson sailed to request aid from 
her majesty ; while Colonel Schuyler, of Albany, 
in his zeal for another enterprise, took five In- 
dian chiefs from the Five Nations, and introduced 
them at court. 

A promise was finally obtained ; and" in July 
letters were sent, saying that Lord Shannon was 
coming with a fleet. In about a month, 300 men 
were on their march from Connecticut to Boston, 
where vessels and sailors were ready. On the 
18th of December, 36 ships left Nantasket for 
Port Royal, nothing having been done or requi- 
red by England for a land army, as it appeared 
that nothing was designed against Canada, but 
only against the eastern French possessions. The 
troops landed at Port Royal on the 24th ; on the 
21st of October they opened three batteries ; and 
the next day Subercase, the commander, surren- 
dered the fort. The Mary galley, one of the five 
transports hired by Connecticut, was lost, with 26 
men ; and the colony paid for it about £1000. 
The expedition then returned. 

The result being very unsatisfactory, General 
Nicholson again applied in person to the queen, 
although the ministry was then Tory ; and, con- 
trary to the expectations of the people, was suc- 
cessful. 

A meeting of governors was held at New-Lon- 



1710.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 247 

don in June; and, in a short time, the promised 
fleet arrived, but without provisions or pilots, which 
led to the conviction that the ministry did not aim 
at the reduction of Canada, but only at a limited 
enterprise, in which they rather desired failure and 
an occasion to cast blame on the colonies. How- 
ever, the colonies resolved to do their best ; and, 
in little more than a month, the troops and pro- 
visions were ready. Connecticut raised 360 men, 
and sent them to Albany, with a vessel and four 
months' provision, and transmitted letters of thanks 
to the queen and General Nicholson. Everything 
was got ready with great despatch ; and the fleet 
sailed from Boston on the 30th of July. It con- 
sisted of 15 men-of-war, 40 transports, and 6 store- 
ships, with a train of artillery, stores, and 7 re- 
giments, or nearly 7000 men. Admiral Walker 
commanded the fleet, and Brigadier Hill the land 
forces. General Nicholson, a few days later, was 
at the head of 4000 men at Albany, intending to 
proceed to Canada by Lake Champlain. Con- 
necticut furnished to New-York 200 fat cattle and 
600 sheep. All these preparations had been made 
in about five weeks. 

But we have a sad tale to tell of the fleet. It 
was assailed by a terrible storm from the east- 
southeast on the 22d of August, after leaving the 
Bay of Gaspe, which the commanders endeavoured 
to weather by lying-to, but in vain. Being in 
deep water and a thick fog, they could not discov- 
er their exact situation until midnight, when they 
found themselves near the rocky shore. Eight or 
nine transports were destroyed, with about 1000 
men : though not a man was lost from the prov- 



248 MASSACHUSETTS BOUNDARY. [1713. 

inces. Most of the remaining vessels being pre. 
vented for several days, by an east wind, from 
reaching the admiral's ship, which had gone on to 
Spanish River Bay, the officers concluded that they 
had not provisions enough to proceed ; and most 
of the ships returned to England. General Nichol- 
son, on hearing the news, marched his army back. 
Blame was cast on the colonies for delay : how 
unjustly it is easy to understand. It is certain that 
they had done their best ; and they were chagrined 
at the failure, and apprehensive of suffering worse 
than ever from their enemies, especially the Mar. 
quis de Vaudreuil, the governor of Canada, who 
had an army of 3000 men, which he had raised for 
defence, and might use for invasion. 

The Assembly, in November, petitioned the queen 
for one more expedition against the enemy, and 
sent John Mayhew to London, the only Connecti- 
cut pilot who had been employed in the fleet, to 
testify concerning the causes of its failure : but no 
attention was paid to the subject. 

In 1711 the Superior Court was ordered to sit 
twice a year in each county ; and the next year 
the judges were first allowed salaries, having be- 
fore received only fees. 

The copper mine at Simsbury was opened about 
the year 1712, by William Partridge, of Newbury, 
and Jonathan Belcher, of Boston ; and the miners 
were exempted from military duty for four years. 

New-Milford was incorporated in 1712, and 
Coventry and Pomfret in 1713. 

This year (1713) the long and lamentable con- 
troversy of the Massachusetts boundary was finally 
and amicably settled, after many vain attempts on 



1713.] HISTORY OP CONNECTICUT. 249 

the part of Connecticut. To avoid the expense 
and uncertainty of an appeal to England, where, 
since Sir Henry Ashurst's death, Connecticut had 
no able friend to oppose the intrigues of Governor 
Dudley, propositions were made to Massachusetts. 
That colony consented that the line should be run 
by commissioners appointed by both parties, and 
fully empowered ; that property should be secured 
to grantees, and the jurisdiction of towns retained 
by the colonies which had planted them ; and that, 
if it should on either side transcend the boundary, 
amends should be made by giving as much land 
elsewhere. If a tract of two miles in Suffield, 
which had been long claimed by Windsor, should 
fall south of the line, it was agreed that it should 
belong to Connecticut. The line was then run, 
and crossed Connecticut River 90 rods north of 
the northeast corner of Suffield, throwing into Con- 
necticut 107.793 acres which Massachusetts had 
encroached upon. That amount was consequently 
made up, and the exchanged land was afterward sold 
for £683 currency (or a little above one farthing 
per acre), and the money given to Yale College. 

To settle the Rhode Island boundary, Connecti- 
cut, in 1702, had relinquished her claim to the 
Narraganset country, though she still believed it 
to be perfectly just. It would have been very ex- 
pensive to prosecute it in England ; and the feel- 
ings of the court were known to be so unfavoura- 
ble to charter privileges, that little was to be hoped 
from the appeal. Besides, the land was then of but 
very little value ; and the loss of so much territory 
would have been fatal to Rhode Island. The As- 
sembly, therefore, being determined to comply with 



250 CONDITION OF THE COLONY. [1713. 

Wjnthrop and Clark's agreement, and close the 
controversy, appointed a committee to settle it. 
In 1703 it was agreed, with the commissioners of 
Rhode Island, that the line should run along the 
middle of Pawcatuck River to the Ashaway, 
thence in a straight line to the southwest corner 
of Warwick grand purchase, and thence north to 
Massachusetts. Grants before made in Westerly 
were to be preserved, and property to be main- 
tained. This agreement, however, was disowned 
by Rhode Island about the year 1713, confirmed 
some years after by the king, and finally marked 
out in 1728. 

Great joy was diffused in the colonies by the 
news of the peace of Utrecht, which was formally 
proclaimed by the governor and council on the 
26th of August, 1713; and the people began to 
enjoy another respite from the sufferings and fears 
of war. Danger being now removed, the soldiers 
might return to their homes, and support them- 
selves by cultivating their land in security, while 
the colony might begin to relieve itself from debt. 
New settlements might be made, and persons who 
had fled from the frontiers might safely return. 
Providence had again mercifully protected Con- 
necticut from the enemy, as in the two preceding 
wars of William and Anne. Only one town had 
been destroyed in all the wars ; and that was Sims- 
bury, which was burned after it had been deserted 
by the inhabitants, who had buried their furniture 
and goods. This was probably in Philip's War. 
The colony, in Queen Anne's War, had paid Id. 
and Sd. on the pound on the whole list, and issued 
bills of credit to the amount of £33,500 since 



1713.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 251 

June, 1709, which was to be called in within seven 
years. 

The population of the colony was now about 
17.000 ; the army nearly 4000 ; the grand list, 
£281,083 ; the taxable towns, 38 ; those sending 
deputies, 40 ; and the whole number of representa- 
tives, 80. The colony owned 2 brigantines, about 
20 sloops, &c, and not above 420 seamen. Some 
tar, pitch, turpentine, and fur were sent to Eng- 
land : but most of the produce to Boston, New- 
York, and the West Indies. Suffield, Enfield, and 
Woodstock were within the territory, but governed 
by Massachusetts. The two former at first be- 
longed to Springfield, all of which town would have 
been in Connecticut if the line had been run accord- 
ing to the expectation of the planters. 

Economy in government has always been a re- 
markable feature in Connecticut. The governor's 
salary was then £400, the deputy-governor's £50, 
and the whole expenses of government, including 
these, probably not over £500, or less than the 
common salary paid to a king's governor. 

The first permanent printer came to Connecti- 
cut in 1713. He was Timothy Green, a descend, 
ant of Samuel Green, of Cambridge, Massachu- 
setts. He was induced to remove to New-Lon- 
don by an offer from the Assembly of £50 annu- 
ally for doing the public printing. His descend- 
ants long held the same office in that town. 



252 COMMON SCHOOLS ESTABLISHED. [1714. 



CHAPTER XXXI. 1714. 

The Origin of Yale College.— Sketch of its History. — Common 
Schools. — A College and Grammar School provided for in 
New- Haven. — Yale College first placed at Killmgworth.— Re- 
moved to Saybrook. — Controversy arising out of a Proposal 
to remove it from Saybrook to New-Haven. — Established 
there.— Rector Cutler dismissed, and the Saybrook Confes- 
sion introduced.— Law of the Colony to prevent irregular 
Meetings on the Sabbath, and the Abuse of the Sacraments. 
— Mining Privileges granted to Mr. Winthrop. — Mines open- 
ed at Simsbury and Wallingford. — Newgate Prison. — First 
Counterfeiting in the Colony. 

The founders of Connecticut were among the 
most devoted friends of general education the 
world ever saw. They believed that the cultiva- 
tion of the mind was a duty incumbent on all, and 
required by the Word of God, whose book of rev- 
elation not only demands, but presupposes the in- 
struction of the intellect. They considered it a 
public benefit to educate every member of society, 
and required their magistrates to provide for this 
important object. As early as the year 1648, 
twelve years after the first settlement of the colo- 
ny, the Assembly passed a law providing for com- 
mon education. It has been affirmed that this was 
the first common school law ever made in the 
world. It required the establishment of a good 
school in every town containing 50 families, in 
which reading and writing should be not only 
taught, but " well taught." It also required that 
every county-town should have a good grammar- 
school. Not content with adopting the law, the 



1713.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 253 

Assembly, with their characteristic practical good 
sense, appropriated large tracts of land for the per- 
manent support of the schools through generations 
to come. 

But even here was not the limit of the foresight 
of the government, and their wise provisions for 
the dissemination of learning. They gave the 
great and almost solitary example of family in- 
struction required by law. They directed the se- 
lectmen to see that the heads of families should 
teach their children and servants to read well, and 
to catechise them on religion once every week ; 
and on this point showed that they were in earnest, 
by fining every family 20 shillings which should 
neglect these duties. That there might be no ex- 
cuse for neglect, the selectmen were authorized to 
furnish Bibles and books to the destitute. The 
law farther required that the capital laws should 
be taught once a week in every family. 

We have seen how annual contributions were 
made for a course of years towards the support of 
Cambridge College. Connecticut was all this time 
delaying to establish a college of her own, only un- 
til her resources should be adequate to the task. 
As early as 1654 an application was made to the 
New- Haven Assembly for a college ; and the next 
year New- Haven offered £300, and Milford £100 
for its endowment. Mr. Davenport wrote to Mr. 
Hopkins, in London, in favour of the enterprise ; 
and New-Haven gave a considerable amount of 
land. 

In 1659 that Assembly took a preparatory step, 
and founded a grammar-school in New-Haven, ap- 
propriating £100 for the purchase of books, and 
Y 



254 YALE COLLEGE FOUNDED. [1713. 

£40 a year. In 1660 Mr. Davenport presented 
Mr. Hopkins's donation ; and the elders of the 
churches in that colony were appointed trustees. 
Both the college and the school, however, failed, in 
consequence of the insufficiency of funds, the dis- 
sensions with Connecticut, and the union of the 
colonies. At a later period the school was re-es- 
tablished, and endowed with all the funds. 

In 1698 it was proposed by several ministers 
that a college should be founded in Connecticut, as 
it had long been found inconvenient to send young 
men to Massachusetts for their education. They 
considered the apostles and their successors as 
having set the example, by founding institutions 
for the education of ministers wherever the Gospel 
was introduced. Messrs. Pierpont, of New-Ha- 
ven, Andrew, of Milford, and Russell, of Branford, 
were leaders in the plan : so that Yale College, 
which was the result of it, appears to have owed 
its origin chiefly to the old New-Haven colony. 
In 1699 ten ministers were nominated as trustees, 
who met at New-Haven in 1700, and formed a so- 
ciety, with the addition of a rector to their number. 
They met afterward at Branford, where they found- 
ed the college, by a contribution of about 40 folio 
volumes : each saying, as he presented his books, 

-*' I give these books for the founding of a college 
in this colony." 

The trustees were Messrs. Noyes, of Stoning- 
ton, Chauncey, of Stratford, Buckingham, of Say- 
brook, Pierson, of Killingworth, Mather, of Wind- 
sor, Andrew, of Milford, Woodbridge, of Hartford, 
Pierpont, of New-Haven, Russell, of Middletown, 
and Webb, of Fairfield. Mr. Russell was appoint- 



1713.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 255 

ed librarian. Other donations having been made, 
they petitioned the Assembly for a charter, stating 

" That, from a sincere regard to, and zeal for 
upholding the Protestant religion, by a succession 
of learned and orthodox men, they had proposed 
that a collegiate school should be erected in this 
colony, wherein youth should be instructed in all 
parts of learning, to qualify them in public em- 
ployments in church and state." 

James Fitch, Esq., of Norwich, a member of the 
council, advocated the petition, and made a dona- 
tion of about 600 acres of land in Killingly, and 
promised to furnish the glass and nails "for a col- 
lege-house and hall." The Assembly, in 1701, 
granted the petition, limited the corporation to 
ministers, and the number of trustees to eleven, 
making a grant of £120, or about £60 sterling. 
In November the Rev. Abraham Pierson was cho- 
sen rector, and rules were adopted. These forbade 
instruction in any system of divinity except that ap- 
pointed ; and the pupils were to be " caused me- 
moriter to recite the Assembly's shorter catechism 
in Latin, and Dr. Ames's Theological Theses, of 
which, as also Ames's Cases of Conscience, he (the 
rector) shall cause to be made, from time to time, 
such explanations as may, through the blessing of 
God, be most conducive to their establishment in 
the principles of the Christian Protestant religion." 
The Scriptures were to be read daily by the pupils, 
at morning and evening prayer, except the Sabbath, 
when practical theology was to be expounded, and 
the non-graduated students were to repeat sermons. 

The corporation agreed to open the college at 
S» vbrook, although not satisfied that it ought to re- 



256 REMOVED TO NEW-HAVEN. [1714. 

main there. The rector's congregation, however, 
were so unwilling to part with him, that he taught 
the pupils at Killingworth. 

The college building was on Saybrook Point, on 
the north side of the street, nearly opposite the bury- 
ing-ground : but it was used only for a short time, 
as the place was thought to be inconvenient, and 
propositions were soon made for the choice of an- 
other situation. This caused dissatisfaction for 
some years among several clergymen, as well as 
laymen, which, however, at length subsided, after 
its establishment at New-Haven. Exertions were 
made to have it fixed at Hartford and Wethers- 
field. The largest amount of contributions being 
offered at New-Haven, and that place being con- 
sidered a more cheap and healthful residence, and 
one more accessible to students from other colonies, 
it was recommended by the Assembly, in 1717, that 
" the collegiate school" should be removed thither, 
and that they should finish the house which had 
been begun for its accommodation. The Assem- 
bly voted £100 to the instructers. 

In 1714 Mr. Dummer collected a valuable libra- 
ry from friends in England. Forty of the volumes 
were given by Governor Yale ; who, in 1718, sent 
over £200 worth of goods from England, to be 
sold for the benefit of the college, with a picture of 
the king and his arms, and a promise of more pres- 
ents in future. Governor Saltonstall, and Mr. Ben- 
ton, of Providence, gave £50 a piece. The build, 
ing erected at New-Haven was of three stories, 
170 feet by 22, with nearly 50 study rooms, a hall, 
library, and kitchen, and cost about £1000 ster- 
ling. The Commencement was held on the 12th 



1719.] HISTORY OP CONNECTICUT. 257 

of September. The institution this year received 
the name of Yale College, from gratitude to its 
principal benefactor. Governor Saltonstall pro- 
nounced a Latin oration ; and eight bachelors' and 
several masters' degrees were conferred. The 
Rev. Messrs. Woodbridge and Buckingham held 
a Commencement the same day at Wethersfield, 
and resistance was made at Saybrook to the re- 
moval of the books : but these lamentable proceed- 
ings were wisely passed over without public cen- 
sure, and the breach among the leading friends of 
education was soon healed. Mr. Woodbridge was 
made rector pro tempore. The Assembly gave 
the instructers £40 a year for seven years, and 
ordered j£300 worth of new land to be sold. 

In 1719, the Rev. Timothy Cutler, pastor of the 
church at Hartford, was chosen rector of Yale 
College : but in 1722 he was found to be an Epis- 
copalian, and to have formed the intention of going 
to England to be ordained, with Mr. Brown, one 
of the tutors, Mr. Johnson, minister of West Ha- 
ven, and Mr. Wetmore, of North Haven. The 
trustees of the college and the people were sur- 
prised, having had no suspicion of such things. 
The rector was excused, after holding a public dis- 
cussion with Governor Saltonstall at Commence- 
ment. The trustees, in October, resolved that rec- 
tors and tutors should in future declare their assent 
to the Saybrook Confession, and give satisfaction 
of the soundness of their faith against Arminian 
and prelatical doctrines, &c. 

The four gentlemen above mentioned were or- 
dained in England, where they were treated with 
great honour by the friends of the Established 
Y2 



258 LAW RESTRICTING WORSHIP. [1726. 

Church ; and three of them returned : Mr. Cutler 
as a missionary in Boston, Mr. Johnson at Strat- 
ford, and Mr. Wetmore at Rye. This was the 
first introduction of Episcopacy into the territory 
of Connecticut. 

To supply the place of rector, the trustees of 
Yale College spent a month each in turn at New- 
Haven till 1726, when the Rev. Elisha Williams, 
minister at Newington, entered on the duties of 
that office. Newington, in compensation for the 
loss of its minister, was paid £100 by the As- 
sembly, and was released from taxes for several 
years. The manners and characters of the stu- 
dents rapidly improved under the direction of Rec- 
tor Williams ; and improvements were made in 
the schools, as well as by the settlement of new 
towns ; and in other respects the colony flourished 
during the times of peace which continued to pre- 
vail. 

In 1726 a law was passed laying a fine of twen- 
ty shillings on every person who should attend a 
meeting in a private house on the Sabbath, and 
neglect public worship, on conviction before any 
assistant or justice of the peace ; and ten pounds, 
and corporeal punishment not exceeding thirty lash- 
es, on any person, not a regularly ordained minis- 
ter, who should administer the sacraments, on con- 
viction before the county court. This law has of- 
ten been decried on account of its intolerance ; 
and it was doubtless highly objectionable, and 
much to be condemned. The intention of the As- 
sembly in making it, however, appears to have been 
not to prevent those sincerely holding religious 
opinions different from those of the people gener- 



1726.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICCT. 259 

ally from worshipping God in any proper manner. 
The only restraint laid upon such was this : they 
were required to ask permission, and it was grant- 
ed them. The preamble to the law we have men- 
tioned declares that, " notwithstanding the liberty 
allowed by law, both to ministers and people, to 
worship God according to their own consciences, 
there are some persons who, without qualifying 
themselves as the law directs for the enjoyment 
of such liberty," form separate meetings and neg- 
lect public worship ; and others, not ordained in any 
manner, have assembled " in a tumultuous manner, 
and abuse and profane the sacraments." Some of 
these, it appears, especially the Rogerenes, as they 
were called, set decency at defiance, by appearing 
in a riotous manner, nearly naked, in churches du- 
ring worship, insulting and interrupting courts, &c, 
so that they would have been punished in any 
civilized country. It seems plain, therefore, that 
the law was passed to suppress immorality, and 
by no means to abridge any right of conscience. 

For some time after the first settlement of Con- 
necticut, it would seem, there were expectations 
entertained by some that great mineral treasures 
would be discovered. Probably this expectation 
was the greater, in consequence of the immense 
wealth yielded to the Spaniards by the min^s of 
the South. Governor Winslow, it will be recol. 
lected, had explored the colony extensively in 
search of valuable minerals; and in 1712, Messrs. 
Partridge and Belcher had opened the copper mine 
in Simsbury. The heirs of the proprietor of the 
Wallingford mine, at the same time, undertook to 
work it in common : but, after six years, they had 



260 FIRST COUNTERFEITING. [1735. 

involved themselves in such disputes and difficul- 
ties, that the Assembly passed an act in 1718, au- 
thorizing the proprietors of copper mines, or such 
of them as should choose to act in the case, to form 
an association, and conduct the business through a 
clerk, agents, &c, to refer disputes to three com- 
missioners appointed by the Assembly, with the 
power of appeal to that body. The Wallingford 
mine was worked a while, till the water prevented 
farther progress. 

The Simsbury mine having passed into the hands 
of Andrew Fresman and Charles Cornelia, of New- 
York, in 1721 the Assembly appointed commis- 
sioners to divide it among several lessees, with au- 
thority to settle disputes, &c. ; but the vein was ex- 
hausted after it had been followed to a considera- 
ble depth, and never yielded much profit. The 
excavations were afterward used as a prison for 
many years, and called Newgate, in which, ac- 
cording to the erroneous system so universal in 
Europe as well as America until the recent ref- 
ormation in prison discipline, convicts were plun- 
ged in gloom and darkness, and cut off from al- 
most all the means of improvement, while they were 
exposed to the worst sort of contamination — the 
society of each other. 

The first attempts to counterfeit the money of 
the colony are mentioned about the year 1735, 
when, to avoid its ill effects, a new emission was 
made of paper bills, of £5, 10s., and 20s., to the 
amount of £20,000. The care taken to guard 
against a surplus of paper money prevented it 
from depreciating before the Spanish war in 1740. 



1715.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 261 



CHAPTER XXXII. 1715. 

The Repeal of the Charter apprehended. — The Danger re- 
moved.— Ralle's War between the Eastern Indians and the 
Colonies.— Previous Exertions of Governor Shute to concili- 
ate and instruct them.— Intrigues- of Ralle.— Dissensions in 
the Massachusetts Legislature. — Attempt to seize him — The 
second Expedition rout the Indians, and Ralle is killed. — 
— Peace sought by the Indians, and amicable Relations estab- 
lished.— Dissensions and Mob in Connecticut about Land- 
claims.— Settled by a Division.— Manufactures and Products. 

New dangers to the charter appeared in 1715, 
when a bill was brought into the Parliament of 
England to repeal the charters of all the colonies. 
Mr. Dummer, the agent in London, was instructed 
how to proceed ; and he made so powerful a plea, 
and sustained it with such facts, that the king in 
council gave a favourable decision, and the colony 
was relieved from the apprehension of arbitrary in- 
terference. There was room for fear, however, 
on another side ; for seven of the lords proprietors 
of the Carolinas had agreed to resign their titles 
and to give up the jurisdiction to his majesty, and 
an act of Parliament had passed authorizing the 
king to purchase the land. Massachusetts also 
had refused a permanent salary to Governors Shute 
and Burnet, and otherwise so treated them that 
the king had censured the colony, and there was 
reason to think her charter might be revoked as 
the former one had been. Besides, John Winthrop, 
son of the late governor, had gone to England to 
appeal against the courts of the colony, for settling 



262 THE PENOBSCOT INDIANS. [1729. 

his father's estate in favour of his sister, Mrs. 
Lynchmere. On an ex-parte hearing in England, 
the law of the colony respecting intestate estates 
was repealed, because it did not secure the prop- 
erty to male heirs. This threw the colony into 
great alarm ; and Jonathan Belcher was appointed 
an assistant agent to act with Mr. Dummer in 
England, and to petition in favour of the law. 

In 1719 the House of Commons declared "that 
the erecting manufactories in the colonies tended 
to lessen their dependance upon Great Britain." 

In 1729 the Assembly addressed their agents a 
most anxious letter, in which they expressed great 
fears about the charter : but it appears that all 
these dangers soon passed away ; the abrogated 
law was restored, and the charter was left un- 
touched ; for the God in whom the colony pecu- 
liarly trusted again interposed in their favour. 
The agents were the same year dismissed ; and, in 
1730, Francis Wilkes, of London, was appointed 
in their place. Mr. Belcher, who had been made 
governor of Massachusetts, arrived at Boston in 
August, and assumed the duties of that office. 

The Penobscot Indians, inhabiting Maine, who 
had long been the enemies of the colonies, in con- 
sequence of the influence exercised over them, by 
which they had been brought into superstitious 
subjection, soon broke out again into hostility, and 
caused great injury and loss, especially to the col- 
onies in their immediate neighbourhood. It was 
well known that the French, as well as the Span- 
iards, in their operations among heathen of differ- 
ent countries, pursued one general plan, by which 
they gained an ascendancy over those who sub- 



1717.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT 263 

mitted to them, like that which is exerted over 
the ignorant populace of Spain and Italy, and by- 
similar means, viz., by making them superstitious, 
and by keeping them in ignorance, especially of 
the Scriptures. It was a fundamental doctrine 
with the descendants of the Pilgrims, as it had been 
of the Pilgrims themselves, that the Word of God 
was the only proper source of intellectual and 
moral light, and that true civilization must neces- 
sarily follow wherever it went before. This doc- 
trine had been supported by their own experience : 
for, so far as the Indians in the colonies had em- 
braced the Bible, they had derived from it the hap- 
piest benefits. 

Knowing that the eastern Indians, the Penob- 
scots especially, would be their implacable enemies 
so long as they should remain under the influence 
of the French priests, and wishing, on account of 
the savages, as well as their own, to avoid the war 
which now threatened, Massachusetts made great 
exertions, in the year 1717, to acquire their con- 
fidence, and to teach them some of the truths so 
doubly important to them at that conjuncture, 
General Shute proceeded to Arowsick Fort, ac- 
companied by several members of the councils of 
Massachusetts and New Hampshire and other gen- 
tlemen, and had a conference with the Penobscots. 
He presented them with one of Eliot's Bibles, in 
English and Indian, and recommended to them a 
minister who was in his company: but, as might 
have been expected, they declined the offer, giv- 
ing the preference to their own teacher (though he 
never taught them even to read), and did not re- 
ceive the Bible, which, indeed, could have done 
them no good until they could read it. 



264 ATTEMPT TO CAPTURE RALLE. [1721. 

The governor then proceeded to hear the com. 
plaints of the Indians ; and many of them, acting 
at first at the direction of the Jesuit Ralle, disa- 
vowed the treaty of 1713, by which they had sold 
land east of the Kennebeck, and were near pro- 
ceeding to hostilities : but the old men interposed, 
the treaty was acknowledged, and they parted as 
friends. The hostile Indians, however, threatened 
the frontier villages so much for several years, that 
they were deserted for a considerable time. Gov- 
ernor Shute in vain proposed to the House of Rep. 
resentatives many pacific measures to conciliate 
the Indians : there was a party blindly opposed to 
him ; and the intrigues of the French, and the ill 
conduct of some of the Indian traders, irritated 
them so much that they finally broke out again in 
hostility. Some of them took Canso, in Nova 
Scotia, in 1720 ; and the French assisted in carry- 
ing away the plunder. It had just been settled 
by people from Massachusetts ; and the loss was 
about £20,000 : yet the governor of Louisburg 
refused to make any redress. 

The Massachusetts House of Representatives 
were eager for energetic measures against the 
leaders of the hostile Indians, especially against 
Ralle, whom they considered their chief instiga- 
tor, and who treated the English with contempt 
and hatred : but the governor and council still op- 
posed them ; and it was not till November, 1721, 
that a party was sent to capture him. They found 
Norridgewock deserted, and got nothing but some 
of Ralle's papers. The governor of Canada now 
exerted himself against the colonies, and engaged 
the Indians in his neighbourhood to make a gen- 



1723.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 265 

eral war. Brunswick in Maine was burned, and 
several other places were attacked. War was de- 
clared by the governor of Massachusetts on the 
25th of July, 1722 ; and 300 men were sent against 
the Indians. 

Connecticut was called upon to furnish men and 
ammunition, by letters from the governors of Mas- 
sachusetts and New- York, who proposed, as an al- 
ternative, that the militia should be placed under 
their command. The Assembly, however, refused, 
on the ground that there was no such invasion as 
could require the aid of all the colonies, expressing 
their readiness to afford assistance in any such case 
of necessity. They, however, sent fifty men to gar- 
rison and scout in Hampshire county, and others 
to their own frontiers. Governor Shute having left 
Massachusetts in disgust early in 1723, Lieutenant- 
Governor Dummer prosecuted the war, and attempt- 
ed, though in vain, to enlist the Five Nations 
against the enemy, who continued their murders and 
depredations, and kept in alarm the extensive line 
from the eastern part of Maine to the western part 
of Massachusetts. Fifty Connecticut soldiers were 
withdrawn from the fort in Northfield, Massachu- 
setts, at an ill time, in October : for it was attack- 
ed the next day by seventy Indians, who killed and 
wounded several of those who remained. In the 
winter more papers of Ralle fell into the hands of 
Captain Moulton, who marched to Norridgewock 
with a party of men, hoping to surprise the place. 
From these it clearly appeared that he was indeed 
the chief mover of the Indians to war. Captain 
Moulton left the village and church without injury. 
This act of humanity and moderation was the more 
Z 



266 DEATH OF RALLE. [1724 

commendable, because the war was unprovoked, 
and carried on at a time when the two mother 
countries were at peace. 

Before this time, viz., in October, the Connecti- 
cut Assembly had directed that inquiries should 
be made of the government of Massachusetts con- 
cerning the origin and prospects of the contest; 
and that, in case of danger, a committee of war 
should be formed, authorized to send out sixty white 
troops and sixty Indians. The enemy continued 
their attacks, killed a number of people in different 
places, and at length undertook a cruise along the 
coast of Maine in a captured schooner, armed with 
two swivels ; and, although a small force was sent 
against them, they were not reduced, but took 
many more vessels and prisoners. 

On the 23d of August, however, a band of 208 
men, under the command of Captains Harman, 
Moulton, and Bourne, struck a fatal blow, by cap- 
turing Norridgewock by surprise, and destroying 
most of the warriors there. Ralle was numbered 
among the slain after the engagement. He had 
brought a most harassing and cruel war upon the 
eastern colonies, through antipathy to the friends of 
truth and liberty, as the people believed. He was 
shot, however, in disobedience to the express or- 
ders of the commander, who greatly deplored his 
destruction in that manner, although he had mer- 
ited his reward. Besides his other atrocious con- 
duct, an English boy of fourteen was found in his 
wigwam, whom he had kept a prisoner six months, 
and had shot through the thigh and stabbed, but 
who afterward recovered. The excuse given for 
killing Ralle contrary to orders was that he was 



1724.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 267 

loading his gun, and refused to give or receive 
quarter. The English killed several women and 
children in this battle ; being maddened, like wild 
beasts, by the inhuman business of war. 

The Massachusetts troops now traversed Maine 
in different directions, but found no Indians. Sev- 
eral parts of that colony, however, were harassed 
so much, that Colonel Stoddard came to Hartford 
to urge the Assembly to assist in prosecuting the 
war : but he was told that Connecticut was not fully 
satisfied of the justice of it, although Governor Sal- 
tonstall, at the request of Massachusetts, had been 
in Boston to make inquiries. The request was 
therefore refused ; and this probably had some in- 
fluence in leading to the propositions for peace 
which were soon afterward made. 

While the war had occupied most of the attention 
of the people of Massachusetts and New-Hamp- 
shire, much had been done in making new settle- 
ments in Connecticut. Litchfield, Tolland, and 
several of their neighbouring towns, had been be- 
gun or incorporated. Some Hartford and Wind- 
sor people, however, who claimed the territory be- 
tween Woodbury, west of Farmington and Sims- 
bury, and east of the Housatonic up to the Mas- 
sachusetts line, under a grant made for the sake of 
precaution in the time of Sir Edmund Andross, at- 
tempted to hold the land in opposition to the gov- 
ernment ; and some of them were imprisoned at 
Hartford. A mob, however, assembled, forced 
open the jail, and released them ; and the unlawful 
acts were repeated. The rioters were so strong 
that they were with difficulty brought to trial by 
Colonel Whiting, Major Talcott, and others, and 



268 MANUFACTURES AND PRODUCTS. [1731. 

fined about £20 each. Even after this, other per- 
sons laid out a town at Goshen, and were selling 
the land ; when a committee was appointed to con- 
fer with them, which effected an amicable settle- 
ment after two years, by giving to Hartford and 
Windsor the eastern half of the territory in dis- 
pute, which was subsequently divided equally be- 
tween them. 

Some of the manufacturers and merchants of 
England had become so much alarmed by the in- 
dustry of some of the colonies, and their success 
in different kinds of manufacture, that in 1731 
they petitioned Parliament to restrict them ; and 
the Board of Trade were ordered by the House of 
Commons to inquire and report " with respect to 
laws made, manufactures set up, or trade carried 
on, detrimental to the trade, navigation, or manu- 
factures of Great Britain." Among other things, 
that report states, that in Connecticut, as well as 
the rest of New-England, Pennsylvania, and Som- 
erset county, Maryland, they had "fallen into the 
manufacture of woollen cloth and linen cloth, for 
the use of their own families only," in consequence 
of the ease with which flax and hemp ware raised, 
and the abundance of wool, which would otherwise 
be "entirely lost." The Board remarked: "It 
were to be wished that some expedient might be 
fallen upon to direct their thoughts from underta- 
kings of this nature ; so much the rather, because 
these manufactures, in process of time, may be 
carried on in greater degree, unless an early stop 
be put to their progress, by employing them in naval 
stores." It pruved, however, a difficult thing whol- 
ly to divert the attention of the people from these 



1731.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 269 

necessary labours ; and, although the British gov- 
ernment pursued a course of severe policy to- 
wards them for many years, they did not wholly 
succeed, but rather fostered that spirit of dissatis- 
faction which alienated the colonies from the moth- 
er-country. 

There were, at that time, six iron furnaces and 
nineteen forges in New-England ; great numbers 
of hats were made, and exported to Spain, Portu- 
gal, and the West Indies ; and many ships were 
built " for the French and Spaniards, in return for 
rum, molasses, wines, and silks, which they truck 
there by connivance." No answers were received 
Crom the governor of Connecticut, but it is said 
*o have had but inconsiderable manufactures, the 
people being generally "employed in tillage ;" and 
the Board said, " We find, by some accounts, that 
the produce of this colony is timber, boards, all 
sorts of English grain, hemp, flax, sheep, black cat- 
tle, swine, horses, goats, and tobacco ; that they 
export horses and lumber to the West Indies, and 
receive in return sugar, salt, molasses, and rum." 
Z2 



270 THE SPANISH WAR. fl739. 



CHAPTER XXXIII. 1739. 

The Spanish War, 1745.—" The Old French War. "^- War ex- 
pected between England and Spain. — Preparations. — De- 
clared in 1739. — Forces required against the Spanish Islands. 
— Havana taken, but abandoned in consequence of a great 
Mortality in the Army. — Declaration of War by France. — 
Canso taken by the French.— The Northern Colonies deter- 
mine alone to send an Expedition against Louisburg.— As- 
sisted by Admiral Warren, they capture it after a Siege. — 
Important Consequences. — Campaign of 1746. — Powerful 
English and French Armaments prepared for America. — The 
Pretender's Insurrection in Scotland. — The English Fleet not 
sent. — The French Fleet dispersed.— Campaign of 1747. — 
Peace of Aix-la-Chapelle.— American Conquests restored to 
the French. 

A war between England and Spain was appre- 
hended in 1739, in consequence of the unfriendly 
aspect of affairs in those two countries ; and Con- 
necticut would of course have reason to expect to 
suffer from hostile fleets, as her coast was exposed 
to invasion, and her shipping to capture. The As- 
sembly, in October, ordered ten cannon and a sup- 
ply of ammunition to be placed at New-London, 
and an armed sloop-of-war to be prepared for de- 
fence. Provision was also made for the protection 
of the frontiers: the militia were formed into thir- 
teen regiments, with a colonel, lieutenant-colonel, 
and major for each. 

War was actuaily declared on the 13tf of Octo- 
ber, and requisition was soon made on the colonies 
for four regiments, to meet a British force at Jamai- 
ca, destined against the Spanish West Indies. The 



1744.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 271 

Assembly provided for the enlistment of volunteers 
and the appointment of officers, and the providing 
of transports and food till they should join the army 
at Jamaica. On the 9th of January, 1740, Lord 
Cathcart reached that island from England, with 
twenty-five ships of the line, and a number of 
frigates and smaller vessels, where, afier his death, 
it was joined by Vice-admiral Vernon, with four 
ships of the line, &c. There were, in all, 15,000 
seamen, and full 12,000 soldiers, including 4000 
from the colonies. General Wentworth now suc- 
ceeded to the command ; and, after wasting time 
in endeavours to intercept a French fleet, attacked 
Carthagena, on the Spanish Main, after it had been 
re-enforced, and failed in the attempt with loss, al- 
though some valuable Spanish vessels were cap- 
tured. 

The next object was Cuba; and Havana was 
taken : but the mortality was such that it was 
abandoned, after the loss of a thousand men daily 
for some time. The misfortunes of this expedition 
fell heavily upon New-England. Nearly a thou- 
sand men had been furnished by those colonies, of 
whom not a hundred returned. Massachusetts lost 
450 out of 500. 

In 1741, about 2000 men from the southern col- 
onies attacked Florida, but effected nothing im- 
portant ; and in 1742, a Spanish force of about 
3000 men landed on the Altamaha, but were driv- 
en back by a stratagem of General Oglethorpe. 

France declared war against England on the 4th 
of March, 1744. The news reached Louisburg 
before it was received in the English colonies ; and 
Canso was surprised and taken by Duvivoir, from 



272 EXPEDITION AGAINST LOUISBURG. [1744. 

that place. French cruisers soon appeared on the 
coast, in such numbers that fishing and commerce 
were stopped ; and it was generally determined 
that Louisburg should be taken, if possible. 

Governor Shirley, of Massachusetts, proposed 
that a large provincial army should be raised, and 
ships sent to cruise against that place : but the plan 
was long debated before it was adopted. New- 
England unanimously agreed to engage in the un- 
dertaking : but the southern colonies refused ; and, 
an embargo having been laid, the Assembly of 
Connecticut voted to raise 500 men, which was its 
proposed quota, while Massachusetts raised 3250, 
and Rhode Island and New-Hampshire 300 each. 
In Connecticut, a bounty of £10 was given to every 
soldier coming furnished, and £3 to each of those 
who came unprovided ; and the monthly pay was 
£8, while they were to be under their own officers 
as far as might be consistent with the good of the 
service. Roger Wolcott, the deputy-governor, was 
appointed commander-in chief of the Connecticut 
troops, which sailed from New- London under con- 
voy of the colony sloop, the Defence. The whole 
expedition was put under the command of Colonel 
Pepperell, and Governor Wolcott was made second 
in command. 

Twelve ships and vessels were collected, and 
some of them sent to cruise ofFLouisburg, to inter- 
cept aid from France. These were all the mari- 
time force of New-England ; and it was necessary 
to procure ten eighteen pounders from New-York. 
On the 23d of April, the expedition was joined at 
Canso by Admiral Warren from the West India 
station, in the Superb of sixty guns, and two other 



1744.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 273 

vessels of forty guns. They proceeded to Louis- 
burs, and soon commenced a regular siege, during 
which several French ships were captured, one of 
them with 560 men. English ships arrived from 
time to time, until there were eleven men-of-war 
assembled. On the 17th of June that strong and 
commanding fortress capitulated, and the island oi 
Cape Breton was delivered up. The troops were 
sent to Rochefort, in France, in eleven ships. 1 ne 
besiegers had lost in all only 101 men. A re-en- 
forcement of 700 or 800 men arrived from the col- 
onies after the surrender, of whom 200 were from 
Connecticut. The weather had been favourable 
until the captors had possession of the place ; and 
then severe rains began, which might have inter- 
rupted the siege, or caused many deaths, if the ca- 
pitulation had been delayed. 

The news of this success was very well received 
in the colonies ; and contributions of money and 
provisions were made for the support of the troops 
by some of the southern ones: by New-York, 
£3000; by New Jersey, £2000 ; and by Pennsyl- 
vania, £4000. Louisburg was the principal for- 
tress of France in this part of America ; and its 
loss was a most severe blow to the power, pros- 
pects, and hopes of that kingdom, then so inimical 
and often so injurious to the colonies. The ditch 
round the town was 80 feet in breadth, the ram- 
parts 30 feet high, and defended by 65 guns, while 
the two water-batteries had 30 twenty-eight and 
30 forty-two pounders. There were, besides, 6 
nine-inch and 10 thirteen-inch mortars ; 600 reg- 
ular troops, and 1300 militia; with provisions and 
ammunition for five or six months. The French 



274 CAPTURE OF LOUISBURG. [1745. 

flag was kept flying as a decoy, after the surren- 
der ; and several ships were thus taken, worth 
about a million of pounds sterling. 

The capture of Louisburg proved important in 
another respect : for the king had sent seven ships 
of war to aid the Canadians and Indians against 
the colonies. The commander heard of the capit- 
ulation from Lieutenant-governor Smith, of New- 
York, whom he captured, and therefore returned. 
Monsieur Marin, who went against Annapolis with 
900 Indians and Frenchmen, after awaiting the 
fleet in vain, gave over his designs against that 
place. Three hundred and fifty men from Connec- 
ticut garrisoned Louisburg the following winter. 

It is remarkable that the colonies received no 
part of the immense spoil taken by this expedition, 
although they had planned and undertaken it, with- 
out aid or even encouragement from England, at 
an expense to themselves almost ruinous ; and the 
assistance which had been afforded them at a late 
hour had not slackened their efforts, but rather in- 
creased them. The English sea and land officers 
had divided the rich prizes among themselves ; 
and, with so selfish a spirit had they acted, that 
nothing had been given to any of the provincials, 
except a small sum allowed to Captain Fletcher 
for leading in the South Sea ship. The Connecti- 
cut Assembly, in August, 1745, addressed a letter 
of congratulation to the king, with a petition that 
he would show some favour to such of their offi- 
cers whose names they sent ; at the October ses- 
sion, a letter was ordered to be addressed to Sir 
Peter Warren, requesting him to use his influence 
in their behalf; and Mr. Thomas Fitch was ap- 



1746.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 275 

pointed agent in London, which he declined. The 
result was, that the application was unsuccessful, 
Such injustice, together with the many evils and 
inconveniences arising from their state of depend- 
ance on the mother country., may have tended grad- 
ually to wean the colonies from England. 

The success of the expedition against Louisburg, 
it appears, caused great surprise among many of 
the most cool and judicious people : for, when we 
consider the weakness of the whole colonial force, 
and the strength of the fortress, it must be con- 
fessed that they had very little rational prospect 
of capturing it without aid; and assistance had 
been refused them by Admiral Warren the very 
day before their departure from Boston. Even 
after the arrival of his majesty's ships, such storms 
or unfavourable winds as had defeated several pre- 
vious enterprises, might have been fatal to this. 
The pious people, therefore, very generally re- 
garded the event as affording a striking display 
of the favourable interference of Divine Provi- 
dence. The annual convention of New-England 
ministers spoke of it in their address to the king 
as "the wonderful success God has given your 
American forces." 

The capture of Louisburg stimulated France and 
England, with one consent, to make America a 
chief theatre of war. Orders were received by 
the colonies in June, 1746, that a provincial force 
should join eight battalions of regular troops at 
Louisburg, and sail for Quebec, in the squadron of 
Sir Peter Warren ; and that, at the same time, an 
army, under General St. Clair, should march from 
Albany to attack Montreal. The colonies were 



276 A FRENCH EXPEDITION DISPERSED. [1746. 

expected to raise 5000 men : but, not dishearten- 
ed by former injustice and disappointments, they 
agreed to increase that number to 8200. Of these 
Connecticut furnished 1000, and New-England 
5200, most of whom were ready to embark for 
the rendezvous in six weeks. 

Admiral Lestock, however, who was expected 
from Portsmouth with a powerful armament, was 
prevented from sailing, partly, perhaps, in conse- 
quence of the apprehensions caused by the party 
of the young Pretender, who had landed in Scot- 
land in August, 1745, and designed to reduce the 
kingdom under the power of the rejected royal 
family. He was successful in his operations un- 
til April 16th, 1746, when his army suffered a to- 
tal defeat in the battle of Preston Pans. 

A powerful French fleet, of 11 line ships and 
30 smaller vessels, sailed for Chebucto, in Nova 
Scotia, in June, under the Duke d'Anville, where 
1600 French and Indians were to await it, and 
there was no force to oppose it. In this case, 
however, Providence was pleased to disappoint the 
enemy when they had the most favourable pros- 
pects of success : for the fleet was delayed by con- 
trary winds, one ship was burned, the Mars and 
Alcide, sixty-fours, were disabled, and the Ardent 
64 was sent back on account of sickness on board. 
The colonies, however, were in a state of alarm 
long after the danger was over : for they heard 
exaggerated accounts of the poor remnants of their 
enemies, as the Duke d'Anville proceeded to Che- 
bucto in September with one ship of the line and 
three or four transports. Fearing that Boston 
would be attacked, 6400 militia were soon col- 



1746.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 277 

lected, and 6000 more prepared to march. Ap- 
prehensions of the most gloomy nature were now 
indulged : and, to human foresight, nothing was to 
be hoped for in case the English fleet should not 
arrive, of whose detention at home the colonies 
were not yet aware. The Great Ruler of events, 
in whom so many placed their trust, protected the 
defenceless in a way of which they had no antici- 
pation. - - 

The French admiral died suddenly, in conse- 
quence of disappointment, as was believed, at not 
meeting expected re-enforcements; but whether 
by apoplexy or by poison appears doubtful. A 
few hours after his death, and on the same day, 
his vice-admiral, D'Estournelle, arrived with four 
ships of the line; and it was immediately proposed 
by him to return to France. The governor of 
Canada, however, Jonquiere, who was on board, 
and now second in command, urged that the ships 
should remain, and take Annapolis and Nova Sco- 
tia ; and he at length prevailed on the majority to 
decide on that course. D'Estournelle was so 
much chagrined at this, that, in those depths of de- 
spair to which infidelity can drive its miserable 
victims, he killed himself with his own sword. 
The men were now landed at Chebucto for the 
benefit of their health : but many of them became 
sickly ; and the Indians of Nova Scotia, who af- 
forded them all the conveniences they could, lost 
one third of their number by diseases communica- 
ted by them. 

In these circumstances, the commanders were 
alarmed by an unfounded report that the English 
fleet was on the wav, under Admiral Lestock. 
Aa 



278 A NEW FRENCH EXPEDITION. [1747. 

Governor Shirley, having received such informa- 
tion, despatched a packet with the news to Louis- 
burg. This was captured by the French, who im- 
mediately became alarmed by the false report, and 
sailed for France. A severe storm, however, over- 
took them when two days out, which dispersed their 
ships ; and, before they could get home, one was 
burned, one was taken, and another was driven on 
shore and destroyed. Thus ended this great ex- 
pedition : the most formidable that had ever been 
formed for the reduction of the colonies, and which 
produced as much apprehension as the Spanish Ar- 
mada had caused to England. The pious people 
of the country, who knew that the English govern- 
ment had not taken any step to oppose it, except to 
order Admiral Townsend to go from the West In- 
dies to Louisburg, which he never did, were dis- 
posed to attribute their deliverance entirely to that 
Almighty Hand which had so often, and now so 
signally, interposed in their favour. 

The Assembly of Connecticut, in October, dis- 
banded the troops they had raised, as an attempt 
against Crown Point, planned by Governor Shirley 
after the failure of the great expedition, had not 
been prosecuted. 

At their session in January, 1747, an invitation 
was received from Governor Shirley to aid him in 
a winter expedition against Crown Point : but this 
was declined. An address of congratulation was 
sent to the king, on the occasion of his delivery 
from the plot by which " the popish Pretender" had 
been brought to seek the throne. 

In the mean time, St. George's in Maine, and 
Saratoga, had been attacked by the Indians ; and 



1747.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 279 

the other New-England colonies engaged in an en- 
terprise which proved disastrous to some of them. 
Having raised 1000 men to re-enforce Annapolis 
and drive the enemy out of Nova Scotia, those from 
Massachusetts were captured at Minas, after losing 
Colonel Noble and a considerable number, but re- 
leased on parole. 

Another French expedition sailed this year, un- 
der La Jonquiere, to retake Nova Scotia. It left 
Rochelle in company with a squadron for the East 
Indies under St. George. But, on the 3d of May. 
it was overtaken by the British squadron command, 
ed by Admirals Anson and Warren, who captured 
six ships of the line and four Indiamen transports, 
with much treasure. This was the last attempt 
made by France against that part of America. 

The peace of Aix-la-Chapelle, between the 
French and the English, was made this year, on 
the 7th of October ; and, although the prisoners 
were to be restored without ransom, it was not very 
gratifying to the colonies to find that all the con- 
quests were also to be restored. They had been 
involved in a long train of distresses for 10 years, 
and lost an immense sum. A million of pounds 
sterling had probably been spent by the northern col- 
onies alone, full half of which had fallen upon Mas- 
sachusetts. Connecticut had emitted bills to the 
amount of £80,000 currency, much of which was 
of the new tenour ; and the troops she had supplied 
were so numerous, that it is probable her expenses 
were as large in proportion. She had maintain- 
ed a garrison in Hampshire county, Massachusetts, 
and kept up a sloop-of-war with about 100 men. 
The colonies lost much by the French privateers. 



280 THE PEACE OF 1747. [1747. 

Cuba, Louisburg, and Nova Scotia cost New-Eng- 
land between 5000 and 6000 young men ; and from 
1722 to 1749, Massachusetts and New-Hampshire 
did not increase in population, when, in a time of 
peace, the inhabitants would probably have been 
doubled. These were some of the results of the 
collisions with the French ; and others were not 
less lamentable. The colonies were left deeply in 
debt, with a currency long greatly depreciated, and, 
worst of all, in some degree demoralized by the 
contaminating influence of war. 



CHAPTER XXXIV. 1747-1756. 

A Period of Peace and Prosperity. — The Customhouse Officer 
of New-London suspected of Pilfering from the Cargo of a 
Spanish Vessel in store. — A Charge of Participating in the 
Act made against Governor Wolcott. — Mr. Fitch elected 
Governor. — The French strengthen and extend their Posts 
and Fortresses on the North and West. — Their intentions. — 
The Ohio Company. — Fort Du Quesne built by the French. — 
Washington's first Military Expedition. — Its Ill-success.— The 
Union of all the Colonies contemplated. — Meeting of Com- 
missioners at Albany. — Connecticut alone withholds her As- 
sent to a Plan proposed. — No System adopted. — General 
Braddock arrives from England as Commander-in-chief. — 
Three Expeditions prepared and sent against Forts Du 
Quesne, Frontignac, and Crown Point — Colonel Monckton 
obtains Possession of Nova Scotia. — Braddock's Defeat and 
Death.— Battle of Lake George, and Defeat and Death of 
GeM.eral Dieskau.— Governor Shirley unsuccessful against 
Fort Frontignac. 

Peace prevailed from 1747 until 1755, and the 
colony enjoyed many of the blessings which it usu- 



1753.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 281 

ally confers upon a Christian land. The people be- 
took themselves, without tear or hinderance, to the 
cultivation of their farms, the clearing of new fields, 
the settlement of new towns, navigation, fishing, and 
the few arts which they were able to pursue with 
advantage ; the whole population thronged to pub- 
lic worstiip, without the necessity of carrying their 
muskets ; the children might go to school without 
the fear of Indians behind every bush ; and their 
homes were no more saddened by the sighs of 
mothers made widows by some recent battle. War 
often causes events which have an evident influence 
on important interests ; and these are usually en- 
larged upon by historians, partly because they are 
easily perceived, and partly because they are over- 
rated. But peace has often as really laid the 
foundation to changes quite as important, and more 
generally beneficial, as well as less appreciated. 
We are not able to state with precision the influ- 
ences which the peace of 1747 brought into exer- 
cise. As usual, the causes were not local, nor con- 
fined to a few agents, as in ordinary wars : but 
they operated in every settlement, and exerted their 
influence by every family table and fireside. We 
have, therefore, to pass over, without particular 
notice, several tranquil years : for it is war which 
gives History employment for her pen ; and she 
passes by those who are at rest from its ravages, 
as the physician enters only habitations which are 
visited by disease. 

A Spanish ship, which entered New-London in 

distress in the year 1753, discharged and stored 

her cargo under the care of the collector of that 

port. The supercargo complained, when he began 

A a2 



282 ORIGIN OF DARTMOUTH COLLEGE. [1754. 

to reload it a few months afterward, that part of it 
was not produced ; and refused to retain what he 
had received until the whole should be delivered up, 
saying, at the same time, that he would be at no 
charges for it. The Assembly appear to have been 
unable to ascertain the facts in the case : but they 
desired and authorized Governor Wolcott to make 
search, and see that full justice was done him, ** ac- 
cording to the laws of trade, nature, and nations." 
Nothing, however, was produced or restored ; and 
so much blame was cast upon the governor, whether 
with or without reason, that, at the election which 
very soon came on, Mr. Thomas Fitch was chosen 
in his place. 

It is well worthy of attention and remembrance, 
that a governor of Connecticut was removed from 
his office by the spontaneous votes of the freemen, 
merely because he was suspected of having con- 
nived at an act of this kind, when the nation to 
which the foreigner belonged, then, and for half a 
century afterward, imprisoned strangers landing 
in their colonies even from shipwreck, and confis- 
cated all the property they could seize. It is our 
duty to be impartial ; and, while we should not 
apologize for any man clearly blameworthy, we 
are bound to approve and admire the superiority 
of those principles which led the freemen of Con- 
necticut thus to condemn the conduct of which they 
suspected their chief ruler. 

About the year 1741, in the present town of Co- 
lumbia, Dr. Eleazar Wheelock began the educa- 
tion of Samson Occum, a pious young Indian of 
the Mohegan tribe, who afterward was a distin- 
guished minister of the Gospel for many years* 



1755.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 283 

Dr. Wheelock's school was the beginning of Dart- 
mouth College, in 1770. 

We now approach the melancholy period of the 
last French War, which was brought about by the 
encroachments of that nation upon the territory 
expressly confirmed to Great Britain by the Treaty 
of Utrecht. In Acadia and Nova Scotia they 
were now erecting forts and establishing posts, 
though in previous treaties they had renounced 
their claims to them. They occupied Crown 
Point (now far within New-York), and were pre- 
paring to come down to Ticonderoga ; while in 
the west they were building a line of forts from the 
lakes to the Gulf of Mexico. A plan like this 
might well alarm the colonies, who had had so 
much experience of the bad faith, subtlety, and 
cruelty of the rulers of Canada. The danger of 
delay was redoubled by the skill with which those 
artful men usually enlisted ignorant savages in 
their service, by the combined powers of blind su- 
perstition, falsehoood, and hopes of plunder. If 
the colonies had sometimes barely escaped, by the 
kind interposition of God alone, from the deadly 
plots which had been laid for them along the limit- 
ed northern frontier, what scenes of fire and blood- 
shed had they soon to expect, when they should 
be surrounded by the broad semicircle which the 
enemy were drawing on the land side, and the 
French fleets and privateers along the coast ! 

The French laid claim to the great valley of the 
Mississippi, including all the country whose waters 
naturally flow into that mighty stream : that is, 
as far east as the Alleghany Mountains, compre- 
hending everything west of them, in regions entire- 



284 WASHINGTON IN THE FRENCH WAR. [1755. 

ly unknown. But a rich association of English 
noblemen, and merchants, and Virginia planters 
had recently begun to occupy a part of the banks of 
the beautiful Ohio ; and they were soon aware of 
the erection of three forts on the upper portion of 
the line marked out by the French : on the south 
shore of Lake Erie, on a branch of the Ohio, and 
at the confluence of the Ohio and Wabash. Of 
course they were anxious to put an immediate 
stop to operations like these. The Pennsylvanians 
viewed the Ohio company with jealousy, and sev- 
eral nations of Indians had their feelings excited 
on different considerations. Some of the Ohio 
company had several of their traders taken by the 
savages ; and the fort they had begun to build 
at the mouth of the Monongahela was seized by 
1000 Frenchmen, and converted into a French 
fortress, after most of their men had been killed. 
Our great Washington here began his military life, 
as a youth, as little anticipating as his countrymen 
what a noble career was destined for him by Di- 
vine Providence. Guided by pure and disinter- 
ested principles, which had been assiduously in- 
stilled into him by a superior mother, he was 
probably, at this early period, excited by nobler 
motives than those which lead most soldiers to the 
field. In the wild and perilous scenes which he 
sought with no selfish hopes, he was doubtless able 
to bear with noble equanimity the reverse which 
soon sent him back, bound by a promise not to 
serve against the French in a year. De Villiers, 
commander of Fort Du Quesne (now Pittsburg), 
had brought 900 French and many Indians against 
him, and forced him to a capitulation. 



1755.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 285 

And now it appeared highly important that au- 
thority should be concentrated somewhere, to com. 
bine and command the power of all the colonies. 
The Lords of Trade recommended a meeting of 
commissioners from them all to form such a plan. 
A meeting was held at Albany, and a plan was 
proposed by a committee, to place the manage- 
ment of all the great and general concerns of the 
country into the hands of a Grand Council of Del- 
egates from the colonies, with a president appoint- 
ed by the king. The delegates were to be chosen 
by the colonial legislatures, and the president was 
to have the right of a negative or veto on all their 
proceedings. The project was approved by all the 
commissioners except those sent by " that cautious 
people," as the venerable Chief-justice Marshall de- 
nominates them, the freemen of Connecticut. They 
feared, says he, "that the power vested in the 
president might prove dangerous to their welfare." 
The Connecticut Assembly protested, and instruct- 
ed their agent fully to resist it. The project suit- 
ed the British cabinet no better : for what security 
was there that the president should retain his seat 
and his veto, when the council should have begun 
to feel the strength of union in council and action ?" 

The British ministers next proposed another 
plan : that there should be an assembly of govern- 
or sand one or two councillors from each colony, 
with authority to direct the military force and op- 
erations, and draw the money from England, which 
should afterward be repaid by taxes on the Ameri- 
cans. This plan, however, was too unreasonable 
to be insisted on ; and things were left as before, 
dependant on the will of the colonies. The im. 



286 PREPARATIONS FOR WAR. [1756. 

portant object of engaging the Five Nations of In- 
dians to join the English also failed of satisfactory 
accomplishment ; and now another campaign was 
approaching, for which preparation was to be made 
without any energetic power of general authority. 

General Braddock having been sent from Eng- 
land as commander-in-chief, the governor of Con- 
necticut was invited to meet him in council in Vir- 
ginia, with the governors of the other colonies ; and 
they accordingly met on the 14th of April, 1755. 
It was there agreed to send three armies against 
the enemy : one under Braddock against Fort Du 
Quesne, with the troops he had brought over, and 
those of Virginia and Maryland ; another against 
Fort Frontignac, by the regiments of Shirley and 
Pepperell, commanded by the former ; and the third 
against Crown Point, under Colonel Johnson, of 
New- York, with the troops of New-England and 
that colony. 

The French were known to be preparing a 
fleet of 20 sail of the line, besides frigates and 
transports, with about 4000 men and military 
stores for Canada ; and Connecticut was informed 
that she was expected to do her full share in rais- 
ing an army to co-operate with the British troops. 
The Assembly, at a special session on the 8th of 
January, 1756, authorized the governor to comply 
with all the requisitions that had been made, at the 
expense of the colony ; and sent the king a letter 
of thanks for his kindness and care. The Assem- 
bly emitted £7500 lawful money in bills, at five 
per cent, interest, to be called in in 1758 ; and to 
meet them a tax was laid of 2d. on the pound. 

In March another session was held, to consider 



1756.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 26? 

a plan of Governor Shirley, to raise 1000 men in 
Connecticut, in order to form an army of 5000, 
to operate against Crown Point. The Assembly 
thought their quota much too large : yet they con- 
sented to furnish it, and also voted to send 500 men 
more in case of need. To provide for the expense, 
they extended the time of payment on old bills, 
with interest, and issued more, to the amount of 
£12,500 providing for them by another tax. Col- 
onel Johnson, of New-York, was elected as com- 
mander-in-chief of the northern army, and Colonel 
Phineas Lyman, one of the magistrates of Con- 
necticut, major-general ; while the regiments of 
the colony were placed under the command of 
General Lyman and Elizur Goodrich. 

We have now, however, to speak of an expedi- 
tion which proceeded from Boston for Nova Scotia 
under Colonel Monckton. Many French inhabi- 
tants were there, who, according to the treaty of 
Utrecht, were to remain unmolested : but, as they 
refused to take the oath of allegiance to England, 
and showed a decided partiality for the Canadians, 
they were regarded as dangerous inhabitants. Cap- 
tain Rouse, with three frigates and a sloop-of-war, 
accompanied the troops up the Bay of Fundy. At 
Malagash they found the passage of the river dis- 
puted by a large body of French and Indians, post- 
ed in a blockhouse, and behind a log breastwork 
built around it. After an engagement of an hour, 
the enemy were driven away. On the 12th of 
June they commenced the investment of Fort Beau- 
sejour ; and, although it was defended by 26 can- 
non, it was taken after a bombardment of four 
days, and the garrison were sent to Louisburg. 



288 DEFEAT OF GENERAL BRADDOCK. [1756, 

On the Gasperau River, which empties into Bay 
Verte, was the principal magazine, which was ta- 
ken. Several hundreds of the Acadians were taken 
among the prisoners in this campaign ; and about 
15,000 persons were now disarmed, and required 
to leave the country, nothing but their moveable 
property being left to them. Some were desti- 
tute, and many were brought to New-England. 
The last object was to dislodge the enemy from 
the mouth of St. John's River ; and, on their ap- 
pearance, the fort which they were erecting was 
abandoned. This left Nova Scotia entirely sub- 
ject to England ; but the expulsion of the inhabi- 
tants was an act of severity which may be recon- 
ciled with the laws of war, but cannot be justified 
by those of humanity. 

In the mean time, General Braddock was in vain 
endeavouring to hasten his preparations in Vir- 
ginia ; and, hearing that a re-enforcement was ex- 
pected at Fort Du Quesne, he proceeded with 800 
men, leaving Colonel Dunbar to follow with the 
main army and baggage. He had been faithfully 
warned, in England and America, to guard against 
ambushments in the wilderness : but, trusting to 
his own judgment and skill, he proceeded without 
sending out scouting parties until the 9th of July, 
when he was fired upon by a large body of the 
Indians, who had secreted themselves in the high 
grass in an open wood. He displayed great cour- 
age, and had five horses shot under him, in vain 
attempts to lead on his men in regular columns to 
dislodge the enemy : but he soon received a mor- 
tal wound, and his troops fled in the utmost disor- 
der. Colonel Washington, the only surviving of- 



1755.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 289 

ficer fit for service, headed the retreat with the 
coolness and skill of a veteran ; but the country 
through which he had to return, being a vast ex- 
tent of territory now left defenceless, was filled 
with consternation at the unexpected failure of the 
expensive expedition. 

Colonel Dunbar succeeded to the chief com- 
mand : but, instead of proceeding with resolution 
against the enemy, or even providing for the pro- 
tection of the frontier, he hastily marched off to 
Philadelphia with the army. Let us now turn to 
the expedition destined against Crown Point. 

More than 4000 men had been collected by 
Generals Johnson and Lyman at Albany, with a 
body of Mohawks under their sachem Hendrick, 
and marched to the Second Carrying-place under 
the command of General Lyman, where they con- 
structed a fort. The army proceeded to Lake 
George in August, and began to prepare batteaux. 
News was brought that General Dieskau had land- 
ed in South Bay, a few miles east of them, when a 
scout of 500 men was sent in that direction, under 
Colonel Williams. At the distance of about four 
miles they fell into an ambush, when, after fight- 
ing bravely, many of them were cut off, including 
Williams and Hendrick, and the enemy advanced 
against the main body, with Dieskau at their head. 
Colonel Whiting, with great difficulty, brought off 
the survivors ; and that unfortunate affair was after- 
ward known in traditions by the melancholy name 
of " The Bloody Morning Scout." 

The Americans, having hastily thrown up a 
breastwork of logs near the spot on which Fort 
George was afterward erected, and whose ruins 
Bb 



290 EXPEDITION AGAINST FRONTIGNAC. [1755. 

are still to be seen, took shelter within it. Thith- 
er 2000 French and Indians pursued the fugitives ; 
and, had they stormed the work at once, they 
might probably have gained it : but, while they 
halted, and delayed to fire by platoons in the Eu- 
ropean manner, the Americans rallied for defence ; 
and, early in the action which ensued, General 
Johnson was wounded, and left the chief command 
to the gallant General Lyman. General Dieskau 
also was wounded ; and, in a sally made by the de- 
fenders, he received his death-shot from a soldier, 
who thought he was drawing a pistol when he was 
taking out his watch to offer it to him to spare his 
life. The French suffered a complete defeat, hav- 
ing lost 700 killed, while the Americans lost 
only 200. 

Connecticut took her customary active part in 
this campaign. Before the battle, the governor 
was urged by General Johnson to give a re-en- 
forcement, and raised 1500 men, and sent them off 
for Albany equipped in a single week. The re- 
mainder of the season was spent in erecting Fort 
Edward and Fort George, and preparing to proceed 
to Crown Point on the opening of the spring. This 
being done, in November the troops returned home 
to spend the winter. The king and people of 
England greatly praised the colonial troops for 
their valour ; and General Johnson was created a 
baronet, and received a present of £5000 ; while 
General Lyman received no reward, although he 
had, in fact, gained the victory. 

The expedition against Fort Frontignac, under 
Governor Shirley, had been quite unsuccessful. 
He was unable to set out from Albany until the 



1756.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 291 

middle of July, and reached the mouth of Oswego 
River gii the 18th of August. He got a supply 
of boats to go to Niagara : but, for want of pro- 
visions, was unable to proceed ; and spent his time 
in building Forts Oswego and Ontario. Thus 
ended the first campaign of the war. 



CHAPTER XXXV. 1756. 

War now declared after a bloody Campaign in America. — Earl 
of Loudon Commander in-chief. — Plan of Operations. — De- 
lays.— Fort Oswego taken by the French under the Marquis 
of Montcalm. — General Abercrombie does not proceed against 
Crown Point.— The Campaign of 1757— The British Minis- 
try send out only a Squadron of Ships to attack Louisburg, 
which attempts nothing.— No sufficient Force being prepared 
at Lake George, Montcalm takes Fort William Henry. — The 
Massacre. — Inhumanity of General Webb. 

It is remarkable that France had proceeded to the 
hostile measures which led the colonies and Eng- 
land into the campaign of 1755 without any dec- 
laration of war. England waited until the 18th of 
May, 1756, when she declared it ; and France fol- 
lowed her example early in June. The Earl of 
Loudon was sent to America to take the general 
command, as well as to be governor of Virginia 
and chief of a royal American regiment. He en- 
joyed great popularity, and was invested with very 
extensive powers. Governor Shirley was also re- 
moved, and General Abercrombie appointed in his 
stead. The northern colonies made another great 
exertion, and assembled 7000 troops ; and Connec- 
ticut alone raised 2000 men, although Loudon de- 



292 SIEGE OF FORT ONONDAGA. [1756. 

manded only half that number : for it was appre- 
hended that there would be a deficiency in the 
southern levies. The two English commanders, 
however, arrived late, and proved to be wanting in 
that very spirit which animated the people and gov- 
ernments. 

It was agreed, in a general council held at New- 
York, that the northern troops, with some regulars, 
should operate against Crown Point and Niagara ; 
and a body of soldiers were sent up the Kennebeck 
River to alarm Quebec, and draw off the French 
to that quarter. To the Southerners was again 
assigned the taking of Fort Du Quesne, to prevent 
the farther extension of the line of the enemy in 
the west, while the Northerners were to cut it 
through at the two points on Lakes Champlain and 
Ontario. Of these two it is perhaps difficult to 
say which was the more important. Crown Point 
was a position of encroachment on the English : 
Frontignac was one of communication with the In- 
dians far in the interior. In the passage between 
Lakes Erie and Ontario, there was the carrying- 
place. 

General Abercrombie did not reach Albany un- 
til the middle of summer ; and then, although he 
had 10,000 men there, and 2000 more at the forts 
beyond him, he remained inactive, although the 
French and Indians had taken and massacred an 
English garrison of 25 men in the country of the 
Five Nations, and attempted to cut off Colonel 
Bradstreet and a detachment on Onondaga River. 
Onondaga Fort was besieged by the French, under 
the Marquis of Montcalm, with about 3000 men. 
The approaches were guarded by land and water : 
but no relief was sent until the 12th of August, 



1757.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 293 

which weas entirely useless, as the place surrender- 
ed on the 14th. The loss was very gieat : the 
French took 121 cannon, 14 mortars, two sloops- 
of-war, 200 hoats, a large supply of provisions and 
ammunition, and 1600 prisoners of war. The fort 
was dismantled, and the enemy retired with their 
booty, as the middle and western parts of New. 
York, then the country of the Five Nations, was 
entirely open to them. 

Abercrombie attempted nothing farther that 
season, although General Winslow had long been 
v/aiting at Lake George, with 7000 men, ready to 
proceed against Ticonderoga and Crown Point. 
These troops were therefore employed only in 
strengthening Fort Edward and Fort George. On 
the approach of winter the provincials returned 
home, after an arduous campaign, which had been 
rendered unavailing by the British commanders. 

In the South nothing had been done. South 
Carolina feared her own slaves more than the 
French, and sent no troops ; and the other colo- 
nies agreed on no plan of operations : so that the 
enemy captured Fort Grenville on the borders of 
Pennsylvania, and the Indians committed many 
murders on the frontiers. 

The British government made new preparations 
in 1757, and sent to Halifax 11 ships of the line, 
a fireship, bombketch, and fifty transports, with 
more than 6000 troops, under General Hopson. 
Admiral Holboum and Commodore Holmes were 
the naval commanders. Connecticut again prompt- 
ly raised double the number of troops required, 
and shared in the general chagrin on learning that 
nothing was designed except the capture of Louia- 
B b 2 



294 MASSACRE AT FORT WM. HENRY. [1757. 

burg. Even this was not attempted : for the 
English commanders delayed until that fortress 
received a strong re-enforcement from France ; so 
that it amounted to 9000 men, while the British had 
12,000. 

And now the French were tempted to advance 
into the heart of our country, by the absence of 
the usual powerful forces to resist them. The 
British commanders had destroyed the fortifica- 
tions at the Great Carrying-place the year before, 
and felled trees into Wood Creek to obstruct the 
navigation ; and only a small force was to be found 
in that neighbourhood, viz., that in Fort William 
Henry, under Colonel Monroe. The French ad- 
vance had already reached Ticonderoga ; when 
Colonel Parker was sent with 400 men to surprise 
them, but they were cut off almost to a man by 
a stratagem of the enemy. The French, under 
Montcalm, now advanced to the siege of Fort 
William Henry with nearly 8000 men, many of 
whom were Indians. The fort contained only 
3000 : but at Fort Edward lay General Webb, 
with 4000 more ; and he might have enabled the 
besieged to cope with the enemy at least on equal 
terms. But his conduct is inexplicable : for, when 
he received an urgent appeal from Colonel Monroe 
to hasten to his aid, he coolly ordered his troops 
back to their quarters, though many of them were 
so burning with desire to march, that they actually 
wept with agony for their friends so basely aban- 
doned. Webb even advised Monroe to surren- 
der to the enemy. This he was compelled to do, 
after defending himself as long as possible ; and 
the garrison marched out, under promises of pro- 



175S-] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 295 

tection, leaving their arms, as well as their prop- 
erty, with the enemy. After they had proceeded 
about half a mile, however, the Indians attacked 
them with yells, and murdered and scalped great 
numbers, including women and children, and pur- 
sued the rest fourteen miles, to Fort Edward. 
Webb now, for the first time, called on the colo- 
nies for assistance, and put them to great expense 
in sending troops. 

The news of these melancholy and shameful 
events caused a deep sensation. Connecticut in 
a few days had 5000 men on the march for that 
blood-stained region, although she had already de- 
spatched 1400. Other colonies showed great zeal : 
but still Webb remained inactive, while the French 
destroyed the towns on the Mohawk River. 



CHAPTER XXXVI. 1758-59. 

Mr. Pitt Prime Minister of England.— His Energy. — Campaign 
of 1758. — Preparations for the entire Reduction of the French 
Power in Canada. — Admiral Boscawen and General Wolfe 
attack Louisburg. — It Capitulates. — Lord Howe is killed at 
Lake George.— Abercrombie's unskilful and unsuccessful At- 
tempt against Ticonderoga.— He retreats — Fort Frontignac 
taken by Colonel Bradstreet. — General Forbes captures Fort 
Du Que'sne. — The Campaign of 1759. — General Amherst ex- 
pels the French from Ticonderoga and Crown Point. — Builds 
a Fortress at the latter Place.— Fort Niagara taken by General 
Johnson. — General Wolfe sails to Quebec with Admiral 
Saunders —Repulsed at Montmorency.— Scales the Precipice 
to the Heights of Abraham— Defeats the Marquis of Mont- 
calm— Quebec Capitulates.— General Amherst, with 10,000 
Men, proceeds by Oswego to Montreal. — Takes that City. — 
The Marquis of Vaudreuil surrenders all Canada to England. 

It was time that some change should be made in the 
British cabinet, whose mismanagement had brought 



296 CAPTURE OP LOUISBURG. [1758. 

such severe and repeated losses on the Americans. 
The next year Mr. Pitt came into office ; and his 
energetic ministry soon gave a new face to affairs 
on both sides of the Atlantic. At a meeting of the 
General Assembly at New-Haven on the 8th of 
March, 1758, a letter from that great statesman 
was read, which, by its unusual tone and spirit, 
quite reanimated the members. He announced 
that the reduction of Louisburg was now to be un- 
dertaken in earnest, to intercept the communication 
between France and Canada, and to deprive the 
enemy of the fisheries ; and that energetic means 
would be used to gain Crown Point and Du Quesne. 
It was immediately determined by the Assembly 
that 5000 men should be raised, and formed into 
four regiments of twelve companies each, under 
the command of Colonels Whiting, Dyar, and Read, 
with chaplains for all. £30,000 was issued in 
bills at five per cent., and a tax laid of &d. on the 
pound on the list of 1760, and 9d. on the pound on 
that of 1759. 

The British fleet of 157 sail, with 17,000 troops, 
sailed from England on the 19th of February, un- 
der Admiral Boscawen, with land forces under 
General Amherst and Brigadier-general WoJfe ; 
and reached Louisburg on the 2d of June. The 
weather prevented a landing until the 8th ; when 
General Wolfe took the left wing to the shore in 
the face of a heavy cannonade from the enemy's 
batteries, while the fleet poured in all her fire along 
the extended line. The English soon drove the 
French from the left, and occupied that part of 
their outworks; and thus were able to commence 
digging their approaches towards the fortress. 



1758.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 297 

They had to endure much opposition, and to dig in 
wet and difficult ground, exposed to the fire of five 
French ships of the line and several frigates, until the 
21st of July. On that day three of them were burn- 
ed ; and General Amherst, having got near to the 
town and set several buildings on fire with bomb- 
shells, sent 600 men, on the night of the 25th, to de- 
stroy the remaining ships. This having been done, 
the fortress capitulated, and 5737 men became pris- 
oners of war. The English thus gained 121 can- 
non, 18 mortars, much ammunition and stores; 
and, St. John's being given up at the same time, 
the whole coast up to the St. Lawrence fell into 
their hands. 

In the mean time, a powerful expedition had been 
embarked on Lake George. Lord Howe had set 
out for Ticonderoga with 900 batteaux, 135 whale- 
boats, and several cannon-rafts, containing 10,000 
troops of the northern colonies, and above 6000 
regulars. Being sensible, and of a good disposi- 
tion, he had, ere this, greatly ingratiated himself 
with the army, by conforming to the American 
habits of warfare, treating the provincial, as well as 
the regular officers, with regard, and sharing in the 
excitement and labours of actual service. After 
landing, the advance became bewildered in the 
forest, where they met with a party of the enemy on 
their retreat from Ticonderoga ; and a hasty vol- 
ley from them killed the young general, while the 
yells of the savages among them threw the regu- 
lars into disorder. The army proceeded ; and, on 
reaching the enemy's line, imprudently attacked it, 
without waiting for their cannon, in opposition to 
the wishes of the Americans. As it was defended 



298 PORT DU QUESNE TAKEN. [1758. 

by an abatis of trees unstripped of their branches, 
and the garrison fought with resolution for four 
hours, the assailants lost nearly 2000 men, count- 
ing the wounded, without being able to force a 
passage, and were then ordered back t< their boats. 
The attack and retreat were directed in the blind- 
est manner by General Abercrombie, who remain- 
ed at the Creek Mills, and never saw the field of 
action ; and the provincials were still as much op- 
posed to the one as to the other : for there were 
still about 14,000 men and a train of artillery to be 
employed against only 3000 of the enemy. 

This new misfortune was partly counterpoised 
by the capture and destruction of Fort Frontignac, 
which was taken by surprise on the 27th of Au- 
gust by Colonel Bradstreet. That enterprising of- 
ficer solicited permission to make an attempt 
against it, and obtained from Abercrombie 3000 
American troops. With these he proceeded, in 
about a month, to Lake Ontario and the head of 
the St. Lawrence, where the fort was situated. 
He captured 60 cannon, 16 small mortars, the 
whole French squadron on the lake, and a great 
amount of stores and ammunition : thus cutting off 
an important link in the enemy's grand line of mil- 
itary posts, and delivering the colony of New-York 
from danger. The spoil was brought to Oswego. 

In the mean time, General Amherst had arrived 
from Louisburg at Lake George, having marched 
across the country from Boston with six regiments, 
intending to prosecute the plan against Crown 
Point. But, finding Colonel Bradstreet's detach- 
ment drawn off, he postponed it for that season. 

General Forbes, in his expedition against Fort 



1758.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 299 

Du Quesne, met with entire success. He unhap- 
pily lost 300 men of an advanced detachment : but 
his powerful army induced the French to destroy 
and evacuate the fortress, and flee down the Mis- 
sissippi, so that he occupied the ruins without 
firing a gun, and dispossessed the enemy of it for 
ever. When it was rebuilt he gave it the name of 
Fort Pitt, after the energetic British minister un- 
der whose auspices he had accomplished this im- 
portant enterprise. Previously to this, viz., on the 
8th of October, a treaty of peace was made with 
the Western Indians, by which all who inhabited 
the region from the lakes to the Alleghany Mount- 
ains bound themselves to be the friends of the col- 
onies. 

The results of the campaign of 1758 were well 
calculated to confirm the Americans in the opin- 
ion that their own generals were better than the 
English. In all human probability, if left to them- 
selves, they would have gained great advantages, 
in the three past years, wherever they had failed, 
their foreign leaders having brought upon them 
the disappointments and calamities which they had 
suffered, through want of skill or cowardice. The 
conviction of this was well calculated to foster those 
feelings of independence, which led them to resist 
the oppressive measures of the British govern- 
ment at a subsequent and still more important pe- 
riod of our history. Still, a better class of Brit- 
ish officers had now begun to appear ; and from 
these the Americans learned important lessons, to 
which they were probably, in part, indebted for the 
skill and science of some of the measures taken in 
the Revo! utionary War. Some of them contract- 



300 TICONDEROGA TAKEN. [1759. 

ed intimate friendships with British officers of the 
most estimable characters, which gave occasion to 
the display of that humanity and martial courtesy 
which were then generally observed by our army in 
proper circumstances. Washington was at this 
time at the right period of life to learn ; and he 
doubtless treasured up much practical wisdom, 
which so disinterested a soldier could derive from 
the faults as well as the excellences of others. 

But now a still more energetic and decisive cam- 
paign approached : for the British ministry had re- 
solved to attempt in earnest the total reduction o^ 
the French power in Canada ; and the year 1759 
saw three expeditions preparing against Quebec. 
Crown Point, and Niagara. The Assembly of 
Connecticut, notwithstanding the loss of many of 
her soldiers, and the enlistment of others in the 
regular army, determined to furnish 6000 men for 
this year, in four regiments of ten companies, 
under Major-general Lyman, Colonels Whiting, 
Wooster, and Fitch. Israel Putnam, the cele- 
brated General Putnam of the Revolution, was 
lieutenant-colonel of the fourth regiment. The 
chaplains were the Reverend Messrs. Beckwith, 
Eels, Ingersoll, and Pomeroy. To raise money, 
£50,000 was issued in bills at 5 per cent., and a 
tax was laid of Wd. per pound on the list of 1762, 
and one of 2d. on that of 1761. The bounty to 
soldiers was raised to £1. 

On the 27th of July, 1759, there was a tremen. 
dous explosion at Ticonderoga. General Amherst 
was within the advanced lines, with 12,000 men, 
operating against the fortress, when the enemy 
blew up their magazine, and retired to Crown 



1759.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 301 

Point. Being pursued, they abandoned that place 
on the 1st of August, and took a stand at the 
Isle-aux-Noix. There 3500 men strongly forti- 
fied themselves under General Boulemaque ; while 
Captain Le Bras commanded four large armed 
ships on Lake Champlain. To cope with the lat- 
ter, Captain Loring was directed to construct a 
sloop of sixteen guns, and a radeau or raft eighty- 
four feet long, to carry six twenty-four pounders ; 
and, in the mean time, General Amherst employed 
the army in repairing Ticonderoga, and building 
a regular pentagonal fortress at Crown Point, to 
put an effectual check to those marauding and 
scalping parties from which the frontiers had suf- 
fered so much. 

While these active scenes were passing on Lake 
Champlain, Fort Niagara was besieged by General 
Prideaux, with the Indians under Sir William John- 
son. But, on the 8th of July, a cohorn burst by 
accident and killed the former, whence the com- 
mand devolved on the latter ; and he pressed the 
siege with so much energy, that on the 12th his 
artillery was within 100 yards of the fort. The 
French general, Aubry, had called in all the neigh- 
bouring garrisons to his assistance ; and Johnson 
soon found them advancing against him, with 1700 
Indians. He sent his light infantry to meet them, 
with as many grenadiers as could be safely with- 
drawn from the approaches ; and, having posted 
them on the road, flanked with friendly Indians, 
they received the attack of the enemy unintimidated 
by the yells of the savages. After an action of an 
hour the French and their allies broke and fled, 
and were pursued with slaughter five miles. The 
C o 



302 WOLFE INVADES CANADA. [1759. 

fort immediately surrendered ; and, while the men 
were sent to New-York and New-England, the 
women and children were transported to Montreal, 
at their own desire. 

We have still one more expedition to notice, 
and that the most important in its success, viz., 
that conducted by General Wolfe against Quebec. 
With the hope of intercepting the French fleet, 
and preventing the supplies it contained from re- 
enforcing that city, Admiral Saunders had brought 
over the British fleet to Louisburg in April, 1759, 
and sent Rear-admiral Durel to cruize off the St. 
Lawrence. Seventeen ships, convoyed by three 
frigates, however, arrived first, and proceeded up 
that river. Admiral Saunders followed as soon as 
the season permitted, landed his troops on the Isl- 
and of Orleans, a little below Quebec, occupied the 
east bank of Montmorency River and Point Levi, 
and began a cannonade upon the lower part of 
the city. The fleet was stationed below, opposite 
the mouth of Montmorency River; while Admi- 
ral Holmes lay above, constantly exposed to much 
danger by the floating fire-rafts sent down by the 
enemy, and with no prospect of reducing the city. 
An attempt was made to take the enemy's batteries 
on the west side of the Montmorency, by landing 
thirteen companies of grenadiers and 200 Ameri- 
cans, and firing from a ship. But the English ad- 
vance having imprudently pressed up the steep hill 
before all was ready, were forced back by a terri- 
ble fire from above ; and a delay in landing, with the 
dangers of a high wind, caused the abandonment of 
the undertaking, after the loss of 500 men. Ill suc- 
cess attended an attempt made to burn the French 



1754.] HISTORY OP CONNECTICUT. 303 

shipping ; and, after much manoeuvring and some 
despondency, the English troops embarked in boats 
and transports, and proceeded eight or nine miles 
up the river, while the armed ships also made a 
feint, as if preparing to fire on the intrenchments 
at Beaufort. In the night, however, General 
Wolfe drifted silently down with his troops, and 
landed at the foot of the rocky precipice which 
borders the river for a considerable distance above 
Quebec. He had but a narrow strip of land to 
stand upon, and the heights were considered by the 
enemy as inaccessible : but, with great difficulty, he 
got his men up to the beautiful level ground above, 
called the Heights of Abraham ; and the light of the 
morning showed his army in the rear of the city 
and above it. Montcalm marched out to meet 
him ; and a bloody battle ensued, in which the 
French were routed and driven into the city. 
Generals Wolfe and Monckton, however, were 
among the killed, with 500 soldiers. The French 
lost Montcalm and about 1500 of their troops. 
General Bougainville had not strength enough to 
hazard a serious engagement ; and Quebec sur- 
rendered on the 18th of September, after the Eng- 
lish had made preparations to besiege the city 
closely by land and water. 

The terms on which this important city was 
given up to the English were these : that the in- 
habitants should be secured in their property, reli- 
gion, and rights until a general pacification should 
be made ; and the garrison should march out with 
the honours of war. The traveller in Lower 
Canada at the present day hardly needs to be told 
that these stipulations, which were afterward mar* 



304 CAPITULATION OF CANADA. [1760. 

for the people of all Lower Canada, have been 
strictly regarded from that time to this : for the 
aspect of the country is very much like that of the 
South of Europe, both intellectually and morally. 
The same customs prevail ; and the old influence 
(namely, that of the Dark Ages) still predominates, 
though it is somewhat reduced. The British gov- 
ernment pays large sums for the support of the 
bishops ; and the public ceremonies of their faith 
are treated with marked respect. The ancient 
system renders land-claims very uncertain ; and in 
education, knowledge, and improvement, the peo- 
ple are far behind their neighbours : indeed, they 
have hardly begun to make any important changes 
in their condition. 

Little, it was thought, remained to be done after 
the reduction of Quebec. General Murray occu. 
pied it with 5000 regular and some light troops, 
while about 1000 of the enemy were taken to 
France. On Lake Champlain, all the French ves- 
sels were destroyed, except one, by Captain Loring ; 
and General Amherst spent the winter in building 
the fort at Crown Point. Monsieur Levi made 
great preparations in the winter to retake Que- 
bec, but was prevented by the activity of General 
Murray. On the 28th of April, however, the bat- 
tle of Sillery was fought, in which the inferior 
numbers of the English brought upon them a de- 
feat, and they were driven back and besieged in 
the city. But a British fleet arrived in May, in 
time to drive off the French ships, relieve the gar- 
rison, and raise the siege. 

Before this, in March, the colonies had raised 
another army, to which Connecticut sent 5000 



1760.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 305 

men under General Lyman; and General Am- 
herst set out for Montreal in June, by the way of 
Oswego and Lake Ontario, with 10,000 troops, be- 
sides 1000 Indians under General Johnson. In 
vessels and batteaux, which had been prepared in 
good time, he transported them to Montreal by the 
St. Lawrence, captured Isle Royale, passed the 
dangerous rapids with the loss of 90 men, and 
was soon joined by General Haviland from Lake 
George and Lake Champlain, and General Mur- 
ray, with the English fleet, and all the troops he 
could safely bring from Quebec. The Marquis de 
Vaudreuil despaired of resistance when he saw so 
powerful a force around him, and capitulated on 
the 8th of September, two days after the arrival of 
the enemy. The capitulation included all the 
country of Canada, and was founded on the prin- 
ciples of that of Quebec. It allowed the troops 
the honours of war, and the privilege of being 
transported to France, but under promise not to 
serve during the war. Property, safety, and their 
religion were secured to all the people. 

After garrisoning the distant posts of Detroit 
and Michilimackinac, General Amherst took his 
army by the way it had come, with great risk and 
labour, but with great success. In the mean time, 
a small fleet, which had been sent from France in 
the spring, too late to relieve Quebec, had anchored 
in the Bay of Chaleur and landed the troops, ho- 
ping to re-enforce the army in Canada. They 
were captured in the summer by Lord Byron ; and 
thus not a spot was left in possession of France in 
this part of the continent. 

Thus terminated the long contest between Eng. 
Cc2 



306 PRECAUTIONARY MEASURES. [1761. 

land and France for the supremacy in America. 
It had continued from the year 1608, when the 
first settlement was made at Quebec ; and had 
caused many bloody wars, each of several years' 
duration, and greatly destructive of human life both 
by land and by sea. In several instances whole 
colonies were in danger of falling into the power 
of the French ; and, had Providence permitted 
them to retain permanent possession of any part 
of our country, how different would have been the 
condition of the inhabitants ! — far more backward 
than Lower Canada is now in intelligence and im- 
provement. When we consider the nature and 
effects of their religious and their political influ- 
ence, we may presume that the population would 
have borne a strong resemblance to that of Spain 
and Italy. The colonies of England, as well 
as the government of Great Britain, gave public 
thanks to Almighty God for the conquest of the 
French possessions : for they regarded it as a most 
important event in favour of human liberty, civil, 
social, and religious. 

A day of thanksgiving was observed in Con- 
necticut on the 23d of November, 1760; and a 
letter of congratulation and thanks was addressed 
to the king by the Assembly, and another to Gen- 
eral Amherst, for his wise conduct and the care he 
had taken of the provincial troops, especially those 
of Connecticut. 

Mr. Pitt, in 1761, requested the General Assem- 
bly to raise two thirds of the number of troops 
furnished the last year, as a considerable army 
was to be employed in extending and strengthening 
the fortresses, that the country might be prepared 
for war if the French should again cioss the At- 



1762.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 307 

lantic. Connecticut furnished 2300 men, in two 
regiments, under Major-general Lyman and Colonel 
Nathan Whiting, with clothes and victuals; and 
emitted £45,000 in bills. These, with other pro- 
vincials and regular troops, spent a busy season in 
repairing and improving the fortifications at Ticon- 
deroga, Crown Point, &c, and the visiter to those 
fortresses still sees evidences of the labours they 
bestowed on those interesting positions. 

The Cherokee war, which had been excited by 
the injustice of the governor of South Carolina, 
and had proved exceedingly calamitous to that col- 
ony and its neighbours, as well as to the poor sav» 
ages, had now been terminated by humane meas- 
ures ; and Fort Du Quesne was strengthened, un- 
der the care of Colonel Stanwix. 



CHAPTER XXXVII. 1762. 

England at War with most of the European Powers.— A large 
Supply of Troops demanded of the Colonies.— Admiral Rod- 
ney's Expedition in the West Indies captures Martinique and 
the Caribbee Islands.— Admiral Pocockeand Lord Albemarle, 
aided by Provincials, take Havana.— The Philippine Islands 
taken from Spain by Admiral Cornish.— Treaty of Peace at 
Fontainebleau gives Florida to England.— Indian War.— Sev- 
eral Fortresses surprised by them.— Much Blood shed on the 
Western Frontiers— Major Putnam sent from Connecticut 
under Command of General Gage.— Treaty of Peace with 
many Western Tribes. — Settlement of the Susquehannah 
Country by a Colony from Connecticut —Collision with Penn- 
sylvania.— The Question unsettled till after the Revolution. 
—Connecticut then received in exchange a part of Ohio. 

The year 1762 found England in a gloomy con- 
dition, for the previous campaign had left her 



308 EXPEDITION AGAINST HAVANA. [1762, 

hands much weakened ; and now Spain, as well as 
almost all the other powers of the Continent, were 
combined against her and Prussia. In case she 
should be much farther reduced, the Americans 
had nothing to expect but a speedy and powerful 
attempt by France to recover the recent conquests ; 
and the colonies were called on to prepare for 
a desperate struggle. Urgent letters came from 
England for tne raising of an army. General Am- 
herst offered a bounty of £5, with clothes, to sol- 
diers enlisting into the king's army ; and the As- 
sembly added £5, and ordered that 375 men should 
be enlisted. 

In the mean time, many of the troops in America, 
regular and provincial, had sailed for Martinique, 
to operate there against the enemy, in conjunction 
with an English fleet. This most powerful arma- 
ment that had ever been sent thither, under Admi- 
ral Rodney and General Monckton, captured the 
island of Martinique on the 14th of February, 1762; 
and all the Caribbees were soon subject to Great 
Britain. 

Another powerful expedition was sent out from 
England and the West Indies the same season, 
with 10,000 men, 37 ships of war, and nearly 150 
transports, under Admiral Pocockeand Lord Albe- 
marle, and sailed through the Bahama Passage to 
Havana, against which it was designed. On the 
17th of June the troops landed : but, being foiled in 
all their attempts against the fortresses, the cli- 
mate destroyed about half their number in the short 
space of two months. Four thousand regulars ar- 
rived from New-York at a most gloomy crisis, 
with some hundreds of provincials ; and the hopes 



1762.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 309 

of the suffering army were encouraged to renewed 
exertions. On the 13th of August Havana sur- 
rendered ; and, with it, the English obtained pos- 
session of the shipping, and a tract of country ex- 
tending 180 miles west from the city. Very few 
of the New-England troops ever returned. 

Providence, in mercy, soon brought about events 
which entirely changed the condition of England 
and her allies, and removed a dark cloud from the 
prospects of the colonies. The death of the Em- 
press of Russia had removed a most powerful en- 
emy of the King of Prussia ; and the power of the 
former country was soon brought to the support of 
the latter. The English fleet in the East Indies, 
under Admiral Cornish and General Draper, had 
been successful in the capture of Manilla and the 
Philippine Islands ; and several other losses had in- 
clined France and Spain to peace. The treaty of 
Fontainebleau was signed on the 10th of February, 
1762, by which the King of France gave up for 
ever all claim to the northern parts of North 
America. In the southern part of it, the French 
territory was limited to Louisiana. At the same 
time, the King of Spain, in return for the Philip- 
pines, gave up Florida to the English, they, in turn, 
promising to allow the French and Spanish inhab- 
itants of all those territories the free enjoyment of 
their religion. 

But now, when the prospects for a long peace 
were the most favourable, new trouble was in prep- 
aration for the colonies. The Cherokee Indians, 
as well as the Five Nations, in consequence of 
suspicions and discontent, fomented, it was be- 
lieved, by French emissaries, drew many other 



310 INDIAN WAR IN THE WEST. [1764, 

tribes into a plot for a general and sudden attack 
upon the extensive frontiers ; and, in 1763, the ad- 
vanced settlements of Pennsylvania, Maryland, and 
Virginia were destroyed or deserted, after the mur- 
der of many inhabitants and traders. The Indians, 
by deceit, soon got possession of the forts connect, 
ing Fort Pitt with the lakes, and also of Michili- 
mackinac, butchering the garrisons. But they 
were so manfully resisted at Detroit by Captain 
Dalyell, and by Colonel Bouquet on the way to 
Fort Pitt with a re-enforcement, that they soon 
left those fortresses unmolested, and besieged that 
of Detroit. 

The dangers on the frontiers continued to be 
so great, that the Earl of Halifax, in the spring of 
1764, demanded troops of the colonies to assist in 
protecting them. The governor of Connecticut 
received also a letter from General Gage, then com- 
mander-in-chief in America, in which he urged 
their immediate attention to the subject. A meeting 
was held forthwith, and a battalion of 265 men was 
ordered to be raised, and placed under the com- 
mand of Major Israel Putnam, to march to any part 
of North America where the commander-in-chief 
should require. An active and effectual campaign 
was made that season, which brought about a trea- 
ty in September, and restored peace on such terms 
as were perfectly satisfactory to the English. 
Caplives were restored, the forts were all given 
up to them, and it was agreed that, if any tribe 
should make war with them in future, the others 
should combine for their defence. 

About the year 1735 commenced a remarkable 
revival of religion in a few places in New-Eng- 



1164.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. Bli 

land, which in two years extended to other parts 
of it, as well as to New-Jersey. It had a power- 
ful, general, and lasting influence on Connecticut, of 
a most favourable character. Many of the mosi 
pious persons became convinced that they had been 
far too indifferent to their duty, and expressed great 
regret for past deficiencies, while they engaged in 
the practice of religion with greater activity. Some 
even of the clergy opposed the doctrines which then 
became prevalent, pronouncing the whole mere 
enthusiasm or fanaticism : but powerful divines 
and a large portion of the people being convinced 
that the cause was the same which produced the 
wonderful scene on the day of Pentecost, attended 
frequent meetings, applied themselves to the study 
of the Scriptures, and to the promotion of the re- 
vival of religion, which prevailed for several years. 

Dr. Dwight says, " a vast multitude of persons 
united themselves to the Christian church ; and, 
with few exceptions, testified through life, by their 
evangelical conduct, the genuineness of their pro- 
fession. The influence of this body of men, many 
of whom survived for a long time the peace of 
1763, retarded essentially the progress of the 
evil." The celebrated Mr. Whitfield, of England, 
a devoted clergyman, visited New-England in 1740 
at particular request, and greatly promoted the dif- 
fusion of religious zeal by his eloquent and im- 
pressive preaching. 

The Susquehanna country had been, for sever- 
al years before this time, a scene of unfortunate 
dissension between Connecticut and Pennsylvania. 
The latter claimed it under a grant made by the 
fcing to William Penn in 1681 : while the claim of 



312 THE SETTLEMENT OF WYOMING. [1763, 

Connecticut was founded on the letters patent 
granted by King James I. to the Plymouth Compa. 
ny in 1620. That patent expressly included "all 
America, lying and being in breadth from 40 de- 
grees of north latitude, from the equinoctial line to 
the 48th degree of said northerly latitude inclusive- 
ly, and in length of and within all the breadth afore, 
said, throughout the main land from sea to sea." 
In 1631, the Earl of Warwick, president of that 
company, granted to Lord Say-and-Seal and oth- 
ers forty leagues on a straight line near the sea- 
shore from Narraganset River towards the south, 
west, west and by south, towards Virginia. This 
had been granted to him the year before, and was 
confirmed to him by the king. In 1662 it was 
confirmed, by a royal patent, to the Colony of Con. 
necticut ; and in 1755 they had authorized a com. 
pany of 850 persons to purchase the land of the 
Five Nations, and recommended to his majesty 
that the settlers should form a new commonwealth 
in that region. This was called the Susquehanna 
Company, and was headed by Phineas Lyman, Ro- 
ger Wolcott, Jr., Samuel Gray, Abraham Daven- 
port, Esq., and others. 

A settlement was made at Wyoming in 1763, 
in the midst of the wilderness ; and Eliphalet 
Dyer was sent to England to procure an arrange- 
ment of the dispute by royal interference. No- 
thing can be clearer than the soundness of that 
claim derived from the charter granted to Connec- 
ticut in 1620. That instrument conveyed the title 
to a tract of the same breadth as Connecticut to 
the South Sea, meaning what is now called the 
Pacific Ocean ; and a glance at the map will suf- 



1769.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 313 

fice to discover that the Valley of Wyoming and 
much more lay in the range. Pennsylvania, how- 
ever, persisted in her claim, although it was found- 
ed on a patent given by Charles II. in 1681, many 
years later ; and formed the Delaware Company, 
which proposed the settlement of the same tract 
of country. 

This company applied to Hendrick, the cele- 
brated Mohawk sachem, to sell them his title to 
the land : but he refused ; and the Connecticut 
people were also unsuccessful in a similar applica- 
tion. Three years after the Connecticut colony 
had been commenced, Tadeskund, the Delaware 
chief, was murdered, probably by some of their en- 
emies of the Six Nations : but the Indians accused 
the colonists of the crime, and determined on re- 
venge. The colonists felt so much confidence in 
the Dela wares, that they rejected every suggestion 
of danger, and did not arm themselves, or take 
any other measures for security. On the 15th of 
October, 1763, they suffered severely for this im- 
prudence : for, while they were scattered about the 
fields at work, a large body of Indians attacked 
them by surprise, killed about twenty, and took a 
number of prisoners, while the rest fled to the 
woods in the greatest consternation. They had 
no resort but to return to Connecticut as they 
could ; and this was a journey of great difficulty, 
fatigue, and exposure at that season of the year, in 
the existing state of the country. 

In the spring of 1769 a party of settlers arrived 

from Connecticut to reoccupy their lands : but 

they found them in the possession of a colony sent 

out by the Delaware Company, who had bought 

Dd 



314 BLOODY CONTESTS AT WYOMING. [1770, 

from the Six Nations such a title as the Connecti- 
cut people had got from them. Amos Ogden and 
Charles Stewart had erected a blockhouse, and 
were prepared to maintain their ground, having 
obtained a grant of the land from John Penn, on 
condition that they should drive off the first set- 
tiers. We should hope that this course, so op- 
posed to one of the most evident principles of phil- 
anthropy, was never in fact pursued by him, and 
that he was not fully aware of the proceedings in 
that territory, so long disputed with bloodshed. 

Several of the Connecticut men, having been 
decoyed into the blockhouse, were captured and 
sent away : but their companions, not disheartened, 
erected a blockhouse of their own, and began the 
cultivation of some of the land. They were soon, 
however, obliged to yield to a force of 200 Penn- 
sylvanians, and leave their crops under the care of 
seventeen families. Ogden, in violation of the 
terms agreed on, destroyed their cattle and har- 
vests, and drove them all away. In February, 
1770, Lazarus Stewart, at the head of the Con- 
necticut men, took Ogden's fort : but it was reta- 
ken, and, after several attacks and skirmishes, it 
was burned, and Ogden was compelled to depart, 
leaving six men in charge of his property. This 
agreement or capitulation, like the former, was dis- 
regarded, and his property destroyed. 

The following autumn brought 150 men against 
Wyoming, with Ogden at their head, who took the 
place by surprise, and treated the people with much 
inhumanity : but in December Stewart reduced the 
place again to the power of the Connecticut peo- 
ple. The governor of Pennsylvania, with an ofler 



1773.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT 315 

of £300 for the head of Captain Stewart, despatch, 
ed a sheriff with his posse to seize him : but Og- 
den's brother was killed in an attack on the fort, 
and the garrison fled in the night, except twelve 
men, who yielded it up. In July a body of Con- 
necticut people returned, with Captain Zabulon 
Butler and 70 men ; and, having surrounded the 
new fort on the bank of the Susquehanna River, 
they began a regular siege, with trenches and can- 
non. Ogden got into a boat one dark night, and 
silently steered down the stream, deceiving his en- 
emies by means of a bundle of his clothes, which 
he caused to float at a distance behind him, and at 
which they directed their fire. He obtained 100 
soldiers at Philadelphia, who marched under Cap- 
tain Clayton : hut one division of them was am. 
bushed and defeated, while the other, after entering 
the fort, were obliged to capitulate in August, with 
the rest of the garrison, and leave the ground. 

Complaint was made to Governor Trumbull, 
who declared that the colony had nothing to do 
with the proceedings of the settlers. At length, 
after they had remained for some time in quiet 
possession of the territory, and much increased 
in numbers, they made application for protection; 
the General Assembly, having already received an 
opinion favourable to their claim from four learned 
English council, determined, in 1773, to assert it, 
and sent commissioners to propose to Pennsylvania 
an amicable arrangement, or an application to the 
king for a settlement of the boundaries, or meas- 
ures to preserve present harmony among the set- 
tlers. Governor Penn declined all these propo- 
sals, and the Assembly determined to extend their 



316 STATE OF RELIGION. [1755. 

jurisdiction over the settlement ; and incorporating 
it as the town of Westmoreland, attached it to the 
county of Litchfield, and received a representative 
from it in the Assembly. A strong remonstrance 
was made to this act by a number of persons in 
Middletown : but representatives were still admit- 
ted from the new town, though much opposition 
was made by some persons in Connecticut, and 
pamphlets were published on both sides of the 
question. 

" The actual state of religion in any country," 
says Dr. Dwight, " must, of course, be an inter- 
esting object of investigation to every sober and in- 
telligent man. To give you a correct view of this 
subject so far as New-England is concerned, it will 
be necessary to go back to the war which com- 
menced in 1755 and terminated in 1763. Ante- 
cedently to the first of these periods, all the changes 
in the religious state of this country were such as 
left the principles of the inhabitants essentially the 
same. They were not changes of the command- 
ing character, but shades of that character ; through 
which it varied towards greater or less degrees of 
purity. From the first settlement of the country 
to the commencement of the war, the same rever- 
ence for God, the same justice, truth, and benevo- 
lence, the same opposition to inordinate indulgences 
of passion and appetite, prevailed without any ma- 
terial exceptions. A universal veneration for the 
Sabbath, a sacred respect for government, an un- 
doubted belief in Divine revelation, and an uncon- 
ditional acknowledgment and performance of the 
common social duties, constituted ever a prominent 
character. * * * Vicious men constituted a small 



1755.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 317 

part of the society ; were insignificant in their char- 
acter ; and, independently of the power of exam- 
ple, had Httie or no influence on the community at 
large. They were objects of odium and contempt, 
of censure and punishment; not the elements of a 
party, nor the firebrands of turmoil and confusion. 

" During this war, foreigners for the first time 
mingled extensively with the inhabitants of New- 
England. The colonial officers and soldiers, whose 
principles had in many instances been imperfectly 
formed, and whose ardent dispositions qualified them 
to decide rather than to reason, to act rather than 
to think, easily imbibed, in an army composed 
of those whom they were taught to regard as supe- 
riors, loose doctrines and licentious practices. In 
that army were many infidels. * * * Many of the 
Americans were far from being dull proficients in 
such a school. The vices they loved, and soon 
found the principles necessary to quiet their con- 
sciences. * * * The means which had been pursued 
to corrupt them, they now employed to corrupt oth- 
ers. From this prima mali labes (this first taint of 
evil) the contagion spread, not indeed through very 
great multitudes, but in little circles, surrounding 
the individuals originally infected." 

The revival of religion before referred to offered 
the principal antidote to this spreading poison. 
Dd2 



318 CLAIMS OF ENGLISH RIGHTS. [1761 



CHAPTER XXXVIII. 1761-1762. 

Causes of the Revolution.— The Colonists of New-England 
claim Equal Rights with the Inhabitants of England. — Rea- 
sons why the People of Connecticut valued their Charter. 
— First Restrictions on Trade— The Navigation Act of 1651 
never submitted to in New-England. — Restrictions on Imports 
in 1663. — Ditto on Trade between the Colonies, in 1672. — 
Board of Trade and the Colonies formed in 1696.— Restric- 
tions on Manufactures commenced in 1699-1719. — The Erec- 
tion of Manufactories forbidden, and the Making of various Ar- 
ticles. — Appeals from the Courts required in England in 1680. 
— Governors' Salaries. — Taxes. — A Change in the Govern- 
ment contemplated m 1762. — The Stamp Act. 

And now we approach the important period in 
which the Revolution separated our country from 
that of our ancestors ; and history most plainly 
shows, that the cause which led to our national in- 
dependence was the injustice of the British govern- 
ment in denying the civil rights which belonged to 
us as British subjects. 

The founders of New-England always regarded 
themselves and their descendants as retaining the 
privileges which they had claimed, in common with 
their fellow-citizens in their native land ; and these 
were always insisted on by successive generations. 
The charter of Connecticut confirmed these privi- 
leges ; and hence its value in the eyes of the people. 
Every intimation ever made of a design to invade 
it, alarmed them at once ; and how many assem- 
blies were convoked, how many solemn delibera- 
tions were held, how many agents despatched to 



1761.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 319 

London, what voluminous letters of instruction 
were written, what an amount of money, labour, 
solicitude, and prayer was bestowed, for the pres- 
ervation of that possession, so highly prized for the 
one great principle which it contained ! That doc- 
ument enclosed the seed of the revolution : for its 
friends were regarded as the friends of the colony ; 
and nothing but opposition to that could make an 
enemy. They appear to have felt, from early 
times, prepared to defend it by force, if their weak- 
ness had permitted ; and more than once the agents 
of royalty were intimidated by the display of their 
resolution. It was natural for other colonies to be 
influenced by the example of New-England ; and 
we find that several of them also began early to 
urge the same claim to the privileges of English- 
men. These privileges were those of being free 
from exactions which they had no hand in impo- 
sing. They demanded the right of governing them- 
selves either in England or in America. The for- 
mer was not allowed, as they could send no repre- 
sentatives to Parliament ; and, therefore, they re- 
fused to acknowledge the power of Parliament to 
govern them. 

In 1640, as Governor Winthrop states, Massa- 
chusetts determined not to make application to 
Parliament for any favours, for fear that it might 
afford ground for their exercising some unjust au- 
thority in future. Governor Trumbull, of Con- 
necticut, in 1779, referring to this fact, declares 
that the colonies ever denied the right in Parlia- 
ment to make laws for them " in all cases whatso- 
ever." The " Act of Navigation," which was pass- 
ed in 1651, and restricted almost the whole export 



320 RESTRICTIONS DISREGARDED. [1761. 

foreign trade of the colonies to English and colo- 
nial ships, was not enforced in New-England, be- 
cause it was resisted as opposed to this principle. 

Virginia was restricted in commerce almost 
from her first settlement, by being required to send 
all her exports to Great Britain. The Navigation 
Act was passed to prevent the Dutch from having 
the carrying-trade of the colonies ; and in 1663, in 
the reign of Charles II., the import trade was re- 
stricted nearly in like manner and for the same 
reason. The object avowed was to keep the colo- 
nies in a firmer dependance on England. But the 
restrictions did not stop here. In 1672 a duty was 
laid on sugar, tobacco, indigo, and cotton sent from 
one colony to another. Virginia petitioned against 
this act ; Rhode Island declared it unconstitution- 
al ; and it was but little regarded in New-England, 
the vessels of which traded with all countries. In 
1677 it was reported to the Lord's Committee for 
the Colonies, that Massachusetts paid no regard to 
the Navigation Act, but " would have all the world 
believe that they are a free state." The General 
Court said, when called to account, that they had 
never given their assent to the act, as the colony 
was not represented in Parliament ; and, therefore, 
it was not obligatory. They, however, ordered that 
the act should in future be observed. So early as 
1687, the revenue laws were set at naught in 
Charleston. 

The Board of Trade and Plantations was formed 
in the reign of William, in 1696 ; and, in connex- 
ion with acts of Parliament, greatly restricted the 
commerce of the colonies. 

In 1699 began the restrictions on the manufac- 



1761.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 321 

tures of the colonies, when it was forbidden to send 
any woollen manufacture out of the country. In 
1719 the House of Commons declared "that the 
erecting of manufactories in the colonies tended 
to lessen their dependance upon Great Britain." 
English hatters, iron manufacturers, and others af- 
terward petitioned that their own trades might be 
prohibited in the colonies ; and this was done to a 
great extent. Iron forges, furnaces, &c, were 
even declared by law to be " nuisances ;" and gov- 
ernors were required to abate them in thirty days, 
under penalty of £500. 

The assemblies of most of the colonies were for 
many years allowed to exercise the power of the 
highest courts in all civil cases : but in 1680 the 
king and council claimed the right of hearing ap- 
peals. Connecticut denied this claim till 1701, 
when the royal demand was very peremptory. 
The Lords of Trade called this a " humour ;" and 
spoke of the " independency" which the colonies 
"thirsted after" as "now notorious." On account 
of this spirit, a bill was brought into Parliament 
in 1701, to reunite the government in the crown. 
In 1702 'the controversy began with Connecticut 
about the law on female heirs to estates, which was 
confirmed. 

Some of the colonies also insisted on the right 
of appropriating their own money ; and Massachu- 
setts had a long contest, beginning in Governor 
Shute's time, and lasting thirty years, in which the 
representatives insisted on the right of determining 
the governor's salary. The question was at length 
yielded by the king : but the authority was again 



322 AN AMERICAN NOBILITY PROPOSED. [1761. 

claimed by Parliament in 1773, and this step was 
one of those which brought on the Revolution. 

The colonies had long consented to pay external 
taxes, as they were regarded as designed for the 
regulation of the commerce of the British empire. 
But they had resisted internal taxes, or those intend- 
ed for raising revenue. Walpole and Pitt, in turn, 
the greatest statesmen of England, had refused to 
force the latter upon them. Walpole had said that 
he was too great a friend of commerce to try it, and 
intimated that he should fear the result. Pitt de- 
clared that it could never be effected unless by an 
overwhelming force ; and it would be ungenerous 
to attempt it so. Pitkin remarks, that England 
would not have dared to attempt it before the pow- 
er of France was humbled in America. In 1760, 
however, the custom-house officers received orders 
to enforce the acts of trade, by seizing goods im- 
ported contrary to them, and even to enter stores, 
&c, in search of them, and to apply to the supe- 
rior courts for " writs of assistance," to enable 
them to accomplish the object. These writs were 
opposed in Massachusetts with great zeal, and were 
restricted in their use. In Connecticut it does not 
appear that they were ever taken out, though they 
were threatened by the Board of Trade. 

In 1762 it was declared that an important change 
was intended to be made in the government of the 
colonies ; and several persons came from England 
to travel about the country, and give their opinions 
on the measures by which it might best be effected. 
Governor Bernard, of Massachusetts, proposed 
that an hereditary nobility should be created by 
the king, and that American representatives should 



1765.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 323 

be admitted into Parliament as a favour, not as a 
right. In 1764 Lord Grenville, prime minister, 
informed the agents of the colonies in London 
that the king was determined to raise money in 
America to increase the revenue of Great Britain, 
and that he proposed to do it by a Stamp Act. The 
plan was, that all public and official documents 
should be required by law to be written on paper 
with a royal stamp, and that this paper should be 
sold at high prices by the government, according 
to the practice now pursued in many countries of 
Europe. Lord Grenville, at the same time, in- 
quired whether any preferable measure could be 
proposed for the same object by the colonies. 
Parliament soon declared the duties which had been 
laid to be perpetual, and made naval commanders 
on the eastern coast custom-house officers, that 
they might seize vessels engaged in forbidden trade. 
Petitions were sent to the king and Parliament 
by several of the colonies, including Connecticut ; 
and, in 1765, Dr. Franklin and Mr. Ingersoll, 
agents of Pennsylvania and Connecticut in London, 
with Mr. Garth, of South Carolina, and Mr. Jack- 
son, besought the council, if they must have money 
from the colonies, to leave it to the people to raise 
it. The petitions were not read in Parliament, 
and the Stamp Act was passed, after mu^h opposi. 
tion, by a large vote ; and now a ta* was to be 
paid for almost every paper used in law cases, by 
merchants in trading with each other, every news- 
paper and pamphlet except pJmanacs, and two 
pounds for every diploma received at a college. 
It was presumed that the people might not peace- 
ably submit to all this, and another act was passed 



324 THE FIRST CONGRESS. [1765. 

to compel them by force, by sending soldiers to 
the principal towns, whom the colonies were re- 
quired to supply with provisions and other neces- 
saries. 



CHAPTER XXXIX. 1765. 

The first General Congress of the Colonies. — Declaration of 
Rights.— The Sons of Liberty. — The Stamp Act disregarded. 
—Taxes. — Riots.— Governor Gage sends troops to Boston to 
enforce the Acts of Parliament. — The Taxes repealed, ex- 
cept that on Tea.— Commerce with Boston forbidden. — The 
Government of Massachusetts overthrown. — General Gage 
Governor of that Colony. — Second Congress. — Boston Neck 
fortified.— Preparations for Defence. — First shedding of Blood 
at Concord. — Troops assemble around Boston. 

Virginia passed resolutions against the Stamp 
Act ; the people of many parts of Connecticut 
expressed great opposition to it ; and Massachu- 
setts invited a Congress, which met in October at 
New York, and was attended by commissioners 
from Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, 
New-Yoik, New-Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, 
Maryland, and South Carolina. There was much 
difference of opinion on the measure in the coun- 
try : some of t'ne rulers as well as others thinking- 
opposition to be treasonable. The Congress (which 
was the first designed to be a general one) publish- 
ed a Declaration of Rights, and sent an address to 
the king and petitions to Parliament. Connecticut 
bad only authorized her commissioners to report ; 



1765.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 325 

and the Assembly approved of these proceedings.* 
The merchants of New-York and Philadelphia 
agreed to import no goods from England until the 
Stamp Act should be repealed ; and some of the 
people of Connecticut and New-York formed a so- 
ciety called the Sons of Liberty. They promised 
to march at once for the defence of places which 
might be in danger from opposition to the unpopu- 
lar law, which they declared to be subversive of 
the principles of the British Constitution. Numer- 
ous publications appeared in favour of resistance. 
The Stamp Act was probably as unpopular in 
Connecticut as in any of the colonies. On the 1st 
of November, the day on which it went into force, 
the inhabitants of Middletown muffled the bell and 
tolled it till night, colours flew at half mast before 
the townhouse and on the shipping, and minute- 
guns were fired. Toasts were drunk like the fol- 
lowing : " Liberty, property, and no stamps. 
"Confusion to all enemies of liberty." Figures 
were borne about in the evening by a procession 
of 800, with inscriptions, and shouts in favour of 
« King George, Pitt, Conway, Barre, and all friends 

of liberty." ' lXIi 

Mr. Ingersoll, distributor of stamps, published 
an address " to the good people of Connecticut" on 
the 24th of August, 1765, in which he informed 
them that he " meant a service" to them in accept- 
ing his office : " but, since it gives you some unea- 
siness, you may be assured, if I find (after the act 
takes place, which is the 1st of November) that 
you shall not incline to purchase or make use of 

* Extracts from many of the documents and speeches of those 
davs will be found in Pitkin's History of the United States. 

Ee 



326 THE STAMP ACT. [1766. 

any stamped paper, I shall not force it upon you, nor 
think it worth my while to trouble you or myself 
with any exercise of my office.'' He closed with 
this remark, which strongly indicates the state of 
public feeling. " I cannot but wish you would 
think more how to get rid of the Stamp Act than of 
the officers who are to supply you with the paper, 
and that you had learned more of the nature of 
my office before you began to be so very angry at 
it." 

On the 1st of November there was a general 
suspension of all business in the harbours, courts, 
&c, throughout the country. That was the day 
when the Stamp Act was to take effect ; and ev- 
ery man refused to comply with it. Officers had 
declined, or resigned, or found nothing to do. It 
was, however, soon decided that business should 
proceed without regard to the law ; and merchants, 
lawyers, judges, &c, were seen engaged in their 
customary employments, boldly using unstamped 
paper. In some of the cities the people became 
excited, and mobs were formed, by which property 
was destroyed, and some respectable citizens gross- 
ly abused. In short, the country was already ripe 
for revolution. 

Parliament, in January, 1766, devoted several 
days to the consideration of these proceedings ; 
and even Mr. Pitt joined in insisting on the right 
of taxing the colonies, though he thought it expe- 
dient not to exercise it. Resolutions were passed 
asserting that claim, and declaring that persons 
who had suffered for the Stamp Act should be pro- 
tected, and have their property restored by the col- 
onies. Benjamin Franklin was asked whether the 



1766.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 327 

assemblies would erase from their records their ex- 
pressions against taxation ; and replied, only it 
forced by arms. . 

A bill asserting the right of taxation, and an- 
other repealing the Stamp Act, were passed. The 
former declared the opposing acts of the colonies 
to be null. The repeal of the latter caused great 
rejoicing in the colonies. 

The news of the repeal of the Stamp Act was 
received with general satisfaction in Connecticut. 
The General Assembly, which was in session at 
Hartford, appointed the next Friday a day of gen- 
eral rejoicing, when bells were rung, flags display- 
ed by the vessels, and a salute of 21 guns was 
fired. While preparations were going on for the 
firintr of small arms by two companies of militia, 
a most melancholy accident occurred, which turned 
the day into one of mourning. The brick school- 
house was blown up, and about thirty persons were 
killed or wounded. 

Although a new ministry was formed by Mr. 
Pitt in 1766, a bill laying a tax on several articles 
was carried' while he was absent. A new board 
of customs was established in the colonies. JNew- 
York was forbidden to pass any act until she should 
make the required provision for the soldiers. Mas- 
sachusetts was again the first to protest ; and the 
Boston collector and other officers were ill-treated 
by a mob, so that they retreated to the Castle, and 
Governor Bernard sent for troops. The merchants 
of that colony, Connecticut, and New-York, again 
agreed to make no importations ; and the citizens 
of Boston armed themselves. In September, Gen- 
eral Gage, having received secret orders from Eng- 



328 GENERAL GAGE AT BOSTON. [1773. 

land, sent to Boston two regiments, under Colonel 
Dalrymple ; and soon after orders came from Eng- 
land to punish persons engaged in the disturbances. 
In 1769, when the Massachusetts legislature met, 
their hall was surrounded by troops. 

In 1770, during Lord North's administration, 
Parliament repealed all the taxes laid on the colo- 
nies, except that on tea. Excitement, however, 
still continued, especially in Boston, where the 
governor, who was still paid by the king, had a 
body of British troops. A party of these, hav- 
ing been provoked by some of the citizens, fired 
among them, and killed and wounded eleven per- 
sons. The people demanded the immediate re- 
moval of the soldiers " at all hazards ;" and they 
were sent to the Castle, which was on an island in 
the harbour. 

In June, 1772, a spirited party of Rhode Island- 
ers seized and burned a British revenue guardship, 
the Gaspee, which had been stationed in Provi- 
dence River to enforce the obnoxious laws. In 
1773 the famous cargo of tea was thrown into the 
harbour of Boston by disguised citizens ; and, so 
violent had the members of Parliament now be- 
come, that in March following they forbade all 
commercial intercourse with that town. In May 
they authorized the king to appoint the council, 
and the governor to appoint and remove the judges 
of most of the courts ; and also forbade the as- 
sembling of town meetings, and empowered sher- 
iffs to select jurors. They also allowed the gov- 
ernor to send to England for trial persons com- 
plained of for acts done under the revenue laws. 

In May General Gage arrived at Boston as gov. 



1775.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 329 

ernor of Massachusetts. The succeeding months 
produced many expressions of sympathy, and pe- 
cuniary contributions to the Bostonians from other 
colonies, who considered them as suffering for the 
common cause. 

The second general Congress was held in Sep- 
tember, 1774, at Philadelphia, and sat with closed 
doors and under promise of secrecy. They drew 
a declaration of the rights of their constituents, and 
of the unjust and oppressive acts of the British gov- 
ernment, including the extension of the province 
of Canada, and the establishment of the existing 
religion and a tyrannical government there. They 
also agreed that their constituents should form an 
association not to use goods imported from Eng- 
land and British possessions ; and, in case the op- 
pressive laws should not be repealed in Septem- 
ber, 1775, to export to them nothing except rice. 
They also sent addresses to the colonies, Parlia- 
ment, and Quebec. General Gage began to for- 
tify Boston Neck, that he might at pleasure shut 
up the town ; and Mr. Quincy was sent to Eng- 
land to remonstrate against this and other meas- 
ures. In January, 1775, Parliament was impor- 
tunately urged by Mr. Pitt to prevent the loss of 
America to the kingdom : but his powerful elo- 
quence was unavailing, and they persevered in dri- 
ving Massachusetts to desperation, and forced the 
country into war. 

Parliament petitioned the king- to reduce the 
Americans by force, representing them as bent on 
rebellion, and the time as favourable for crushing 
the monster, Revolution, in its birth. Some had 
said in debate that the colonists were cowardb. 
Ee2 



330 BATTLE OF LEXINGTON. [1775. 

incapable of military discipline, and easy to be 
overcome. The king replied that he was resolved 
to follow their advice, and wished an increase of 
force. Parliament then restricted the commerce 
of all the colonies except New. York and North 
Carolina, and deprived New-England of the fish- 
eries, expecting to starve them into submission. 
Dr. Franklin proposed to some of the ministry a 
plan of reconciliation, which was not agreed to ; 
after which Lord North proposed another, in or- 
der, as he said, to try whether the Americans were 
sincere. 

In the mean time, delegates were appointed for 
the proposed third Congress; and the ferment of 
feeling was strong throughout the country, espe- 
cially in Massachusetts, which was evidently mark- 
ed out as the first point of assault. On the 26th 
of October they had directed that one fourth of the 
militia should be armed, equipped, and stand ready 
for action at a moment's warning, whence they 
were denominated " minute men." It was re- 
solved that the Americans should not be the ag- 
gressors : but that the people should not be unpre- 
pared for defence ; and large supplies of arms and 
provisions were collected at Worcester and Con- 
cord. News soon arrived in Connecticut which 
caused the deepest sensation. 

In every village the people were called out by 
the beating of drums, which was the manner in 
which an "alarm" was spread in those days, or an 
** alarum," as it was popularly called ; and they were 
informed that General Gage, on the 18th of April, 
had sent a detachment of 800 soldiers to destroy 
the stores at Concord, fired on a few men assem- 



1775.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 331 

bled to prevent them, and returned to Boston with 
heavy loss. This report of " the first shedding of 
blood" roused the feelings of all ; and hundreds of 
men were immediately to be seen on the roads 
leading from Connecticut to Massachusetts, with 
their muskets on their shoulders. 

When the news reached Brooklyu, Connecticut, 
General Israel Putnam was at work in his field ; 
and, as soon as he heard it, he unyoked his cattle, 
left the plough in the furrow, mounted his horse, 
and set off for Boston, without waiting even to 
change his clothes. He soon returned, raised a 
regiment, and marched it to Cambridge. 

He was born at Salem, Massachusetts, in 1718, 
and was distinguished by his plain manners and 
personal strength in his youth. He removed to 
Pomfret, Connecticut, in 1739, where he cultivated 
a large farm. 



CHAPTER XL. 1775. 

Surprise of Ticonderoga and Crown Point. — Re-enforcements 
arrive at Boston from England. — The Battle of Breed's or 
Bunker's Hill.— Militia sent from the neighbouring Colonies. 
— General Wooster marches, with 2000 Connecticut Militia, 
to protect New- York.— Congress order the raising of an Ar- 
my.— They appoint Washington Commander-in-chief.— Con- 
dition of Boston on his Arrival.— Expedition to Quebec. — 
Marauding in Long Island Sound. 

When the news of the battle of Lexington 
reached New-Haven, the governor's guards were 
called out by Captain Benedict Arnold (afterward 



332 THE SIEGE OF BOSTON. [1775. 

u distinguished officer, and finally a traitor), and 
invited to march to the scene of action. About 
40 of them consented, and he applied to the select- 
men for powder. The next morning he obtained 
a supply by threatening to take it by force, and 
marched. He halted that night at Wethersfield, 
where they were hospitably received, and then 
proceeded to Massachusetts. Arnold's men so 
much excelled the other troops in uniform and dis- 
cipline, that they were selected to deliver to the 
British the body of one of their deceased offi- 
cers, and were much complimented by the enemy. 
About one quarter of these men afterward accom- 
panied Arnold to Canada : but the others returned 
home in about three weeks. 

The Connecticut soldiers who had flocked to the 
scene of excitement soon placed themselves under 
the command of Putnam, whose athletic frame, 
bold and active mind, prompt and determined air, 
added to his experience in military affairs and ar- 
dent patriotism, marked him at once as i\\e man 
best qualified to direct and lead them. From the 
heights which they ascended, the Americans could 
overlook Boston and overawe the enemy, who had 
already shut themselves up closely within its nar- 
row peninsula. Putnam, having served in the 
French war under General Gage, well knew 
his character and abilities ; and, considering the 
amount of force which he had at his command, our 
officers thought best to send home all their own, ex- 
cepting a limited number of troops, in the existing 
state of things. Roxbury Neck was kept strongly 
guarded, being the only way by which the enemy 
could leave the town by land ; and thus things re- 
mained for a time without material alteration. 



1775.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 333 

In this interval, however, an important enter- 
prise was undertaken in another part of the coun- 
try. 

Several gentlemen in Connecticut, at this im- 
portant juncture, conceived the design of seizing 
the fortresses of Ticonderoga and Crown Point. 
As they were occupied by feeble garrisons, it was 
thought that they might easily be seized without 
bloodshed : but, if allowed to remain much longer 
in the hands of the British, they would soon be 
filled with troops, to the great injury of the coun- 
try. The suggestion was immediately acted upon 
by the government of the colony. They secretly 
despatched 40 men under the patriotic officers Dean, 
Wooster, and Parsons. These communicated with 
Ethan Allen, a native of Litchfield, but for some 
time a leader of the Green Mountain Boys, in their 
opposition to the New-York claimants of land in 
the present state of Vermont. He engaged in the 
enterprise with the greatest zeal, and, with Captain 
Warner, collected 230 men. In the mean time, 
Benedict Arnold had conceived a similar scheme, 
and received authority from the Massachusetts 
government to raise 400 men to seize those for- 
tresses. Being unsuccessful in finding volunteers, 
he proceeded to Lake Champlain, accompanied 
only by his servant, and joined the expedition. 

Having collected all the boats they could find, 
they prepared to embark at Shoreham in the night ; 
but only eighty men were able to cross together ; 
and these, proceeding with muffled oars, soon reach- 
ed the gate of the fort. A sentinel hailed them, 
and snapped his musket on receiving no answer : 
but he was seized, and the assailants, in a mo 



334 SURPRISE OF TICONDEROGA, ETC. [1775. 

ment, were in the midst of the fortress, in the pa- 
rade, loudly demanding a surrender. The English 
commander soon appeared at an upper window ; 
and, finding that resistance would be vain, gave up 
the place. With what joy did the patriotic little 
band survey the massive gates and solid walls, re- 
doubts, and bastions, with all their artillery, am- 
munition, and stores, which, by the favour of Prov- 
idence, were now placed in their charge, to be 
held as one of the chief bulwarks of their native 
country ! 

Captain Warner hastened off, at the head of a 
detachment, to seize upon the sister fortress of 
Crown Point, similarly situated a few miles down 
the lake, and was equally successful in taking it 
by surprise, and without the loss of life. Skeenes. 
borough, now Whitehall, also fell into the hands of 
these resolute men ; and Arnold, embarking in a 
schooner, proceeded to Canada, and captured a 
British sloop. of-war at the outlet of Lake Cham- 
plain. 

Measures were soon taken by Connecticut to 
garrison these posts ; and it was agreed that New- 
York should supply them with provisions. This 
was so promptly done, that General Schuyler, in a 
return made to General Washington on the 15th 
of July, of the troops under his command in the 
northern department, stated the Connecticut troops 
under General Wooster at 1505, and those at Ti- 
conderoga, Crown Point, and Fort George at 973 ; 
while only 205 New- York men were in Fort 
George, and 174 from Massachusetts in all those 
forts. 

Thus the principal route to Canada was brought 



1775.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 335 

into the possession of the Americans, with every 
advantage for assault or defence in that quarter. 
Still the Congress were expecting and desiring an 
accommodation of the dispute with England ; and, 
on hearing of this success, they recommended that 
a faithful inventory should be taken of all the king's 
property captured, that it might be restored when 
existing difficulties should be removed. 

This wish, however, was not to be gratified ; 
for the king and his ministers, stimulated by pride, 
and blinded by passion and ignorance, had resolved 
to subdue the spirit of the Americans by force ; 
and, in the spring, large re-enforcements arrived 
at Boston, under Generals Howe, Clinton, and 
Burgoyne. Pardon having been offered to all the 
" rebels" except Hancock and Adams, General 
Gage prepared to march into the country ; and a 
large body of militia having again assembled, their 
generals determined to occupy Bunker's Hill, on 
Charlestown Neck, very near Boston. Captain 
Knowlton, of Connecticut, was sent in the night of 
the 16th of June, 1775, to occupy it, with Colonel 
Prescot, of Massachusetts, and Colonel Stark, of 
New- Hampshire. In the darkness they mistook 
the spot, and began to fortify Breed's Hill, an inferi- 
or eminence, and a spur of Bunker's Hill, still near, 
er to Boston. The particulars of the battle of the 
17th, which here opened the first campaign of the 
Revolutionary War, need not be given here. 
Though finally driven from the ground after three 
charges by 3000 regular troops, just double their 
number ; though they had 453 killed and wounded, 
their resolution and efficiency were so great, that 
this action had a great influence on subsequent 



336 BATTLE OF BUNKER'S HILL. [1775. 

events. In this celebrated battle Connecticut had 
her full share of labour and suffering. Captain 
Knowlton, from that colony, was one of the most 
forward, while Putnam was as prompt in assuming 
the command as his numerous friends were in 
yielding him ready obedience, when there was no 
authority to appoint a leader or to call out the 
people. 

Immediately after the battle, the British main 
body began to intrench themselves on Bunker's 
Hill; and, not thinking proper to pursue the patri- 
ots, left them to fortify themselves on the opposite 
side of Mystic River. The Provincial Congress 
of Massachusetts immediately ordered 15,000 men 
to be raised, and sent an urgent request to the 
other New-England colonies to furnish an equal 
number. Governor Trumbull,* of Connecticut, 
though already at an advanced age, exerted himself 
with the zeal, intelligence, and success which at- 
tended that devoted and distinguished patriot to 
the end of the war. 

The General Assembly of Connecticut imme- 
diately ordered that an army should be raised for 
their defence, which was put under the command of 

* Jonathan Trumbull resided at Lebanon, where his house 
remains, as well as the building in which the public business 
under his direction, during the war, was transacted. It was call- 
ed the War Office ; and bears the marks of that plainness and 
simplicity which characterized the state of society in those times. 
An ancestor of Governor Trumbull emigrated from England, 
and settled at Ipswich in 1645. His son John lived in Suffield, 
and had three sons : John, Joseph, and Benoni. Joseph settled 
in Lebanon, and had but one son, who was the governor. He 
was graduated at Harvard College in 1727, and became a mer- 
chant. The numerous papers which he left, most of which are 
preserved by the Historical Society of Connecticut, were filed 
and preserved with the greatest care. 



1775.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 337 

General David Wooster, of New-Haven, and sta- 
tioned along the coast of the Sound. A regiment 
was also ordered to be enlisted for the Continental 
service, under General Jedediah Huntington, of 
Norwich. 

For that period of the war, many of the troops 
were commanded by the men who had raised 
them ; so that many of the officers who first ap- 
peared at the camp held their authority and rank 
on no other ground of merit but that of having 
had success in drawing out soldiers. This was 
not generally the case with those of Connecticut, 
because the General Assembly so early took the 
appointments into their own hands. The people 
came readily into the field, impelled by a high 
sense of duty to their brethren of Massachusetts, 
as well as to the cause of mankind, which they be- 
lieved to be in some degree intrusted to them. 
With the preparation they had had, by the patri- 
otic sentiments so assiduously circulated by the 
leading and sagacious statesmen of the day, per- 
sons of all ages were warmly interested in the 
common cause. Resistance to the oppressors of 
America was the general cry ; and while the aged 
approved the sentiments of the governor and the 
measures of the Assembly, they prayed for suc- 
cess to the God of battles, and encouraged the 
young to buckle on their armour.* 

* The following extracts are from a pamphlet published by 
the Reverend Daniel Barber, of Connecticut, in 1831, entitled 
" the History of my Own Times." They give a lively picture 
of the state of things at the period at which we have arrived. 

** Immediately after the battle of Bunker's Hill, in 1775, or- 
ders were issued for raising a regiment of Connecticut troops, 
for the term of five months, under Colonel Jedediah Huntington, 

Ff 



338 AID SENT TO NEW-YORK. [1775. 

A portion of the forces of that colony soon found 
opportunity to operate in favour of the common 

of Norwich. I enlisted under Captain Elisha Humphrey, of 
Simsbury. * * * Our company, being suddenly enlisted, to the 
number of about seventy-five, rank and file, orders were given 
for all to meet on a certain day at the house of the captain, 
well equipped, and ready to begin the march. 

"The Reverend Mr. Pitkin, of Farmington, was requested 
that day to preach the farewell sermon to the soldiers. At the 
appointed hour we marched to the meeting-house, where the 
officers appeared in military style, with their appropriate badges 
af distinction, and the soldiers in proper order, wiih their arms 
and accoutrements, as men prepared for battle. It was a full and 
overflowing audience, all in high expectation of something new 
and charming from so gifted a preacher. After his warm and 
ervent prayer to Heaven for the success and prosperity of 
American armies, and the liberties and freedom of our country, 
ne introduced his address, if I remember right, from these 
words : ' Play the man for your country, and for the cities of 
your God ; and the Lord do that which seemeth him good.' 
His sermon was tender and pathetic, lively and animating. It 
was like martial music ; while it touched the finer feelings, it 
roused and animated for the dreadful onset— the shout of war 
and the cry of victory. During the time of its delivery, abun- 
dance of tears was seen to flow, both from old and young, male 
as well as female. 

" The sermon being ended, the drums soon beat to arms. 
Being arranged in military order, we were again conducted to 
the captain's house, and dismissed for a short time. In going 
to and from the meeting, we were followed and accompanied by 
a mixed multitude — fathers and mothers, wives and children, 
sisters, friends, and strangers. * * * In the midst of this min- 
gling scene of sorrow, the drum beat to arms. Soldiers, take 
your places, is the word ; the line of march is formed ; we add 
one more wishful, lingering look, while many a silent tear be- 
speaks the real feelings of the heart. The word is given. We 
begin our march with silence, downcast looks, and pensive feel- 
ings and reflections. We were now leaving our homes, our 
friends, and all our pleasant places behind, which our eyes 
might never behold again. 

" The most of us had not, at that time, I believe, been twenty 
miles from home. After marching a while, we began to give 
way to more cheerful and lively feelings. We marched about 
eight miles that afternoon; at night put up at Mr. James 
Marsh's inn. Here, for the first time, I slept as a soldier on the 



1775.] 



HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 339 



cause in another quarter. General Wooster, who 
had commanded a regiment through the French 

floor, with a cartridge-box for my pillow. At that period, horse- 
wagons being very little in use, an ox-team was provided to car- 
ry our provision by the way and a barrel of rum. Our pro- 
vision was salt pork and pease. Wherever we stopped, a large 
kettle was hung over the fire, in which the salt meat was put 
without freshening, and the dry pease without soaking. Cooks 
and stewards were appointed, who took charge of the table de- 
partment. When all was ready, a stroke on the drum was the 
signal to eat ; and we were generally hungry enough to stand 
in need of no great urging. 

" While passing through Connecticut, the females were very 
polite in lending us knives and forks; but after entering Mas- 
sachusetts we were not allowed the like favour, without pledg- 
ing money or some other kind of property, the people saying 
they had lost many of their spoons by the soldiers who had gone 
before us. * * * Our bread was hard biscuit, in which there was 
a small quantity of lime, just sufficient to make the mouth sore. 
They were so hard that the soldiers called them candlestick 
bottoms. 

" Now, for the first time, we travelled on the Lord's day, un- 
der arms, and passed meeting-houses in the time of worship, 
with drums and fifes playing martial music ; all which was cal- 
culated to afford to a New-England man some doubts and reflec- 
tions, whether God would be as well pleased with parade and 
military performance as if we had stayed at home to read our 
Bibles, or went to meeting to hear the minister. But military 
discipline and the habits of a soldier soon effected a degree of 
relaxation in most of us. In process of time, many, once pious, 
at least in form and appearance, came into the practice of treat- 
ing all days nearly alike ; yet there were some who kept the 
practice of reading Watts' Psalms and Hymns as a book of de- 
votion. 

" It is natural to expect that soldiers under arms are not gen 
erally inclined to the same degree of civility as others, or as they 
ought to be ; though this is not always the case. Yet, at the 
period at which I am speaking, and during our march, it was 
not uncommon, if a soldier thought himself not well treated by 
an innkeeper, to show his resentment by shooting a ball through 
his sign. 

" In our march through Connecticut, the inhabitants seemed 
to view us with tokens of joy and gladness, and by them we 
were treated with common civility, and a respect due us as sol- 
diers; but when we came into Massachusetts, and advanced 



340 THE THIRD CONGRESS. [1775. 

war, while exercising the command of all the troops 
of the colony, and stationed along the Sound to re- 
sist the enemy if they should make an expected 
attempt upon the coast, was requested by the Pro- 
vincial Congress of New- York to be ready to op- 
pose a British regiment which was looked for from 
Ireland. The government of Connecticut cheer- 
fully granting him permission, on the 28th of June 
he went, with 1800 men, and awaited the ene- 
my at the distance of five miles from the city. 
The following extract of a letter to the general 
from the New-York Congress bears gratifying 
testimony to the colony, as well as to himself. 
"The honest zeal which inspirits the bosoms of 
our countrymen in Connecticut commands our 
highest praise." 

The third general Congress, in May, agreed to 

nearer to Boston, the inhabitants, wherever we stopped, seemed 
to have no better opinion of us than (except the officers) if we 
had been a banditti of rogues and thieves. This served to mor- 
tify our feelings, and sometimes drew from us expressions of 
angry resentment. 

" After about nine or ten days' marching, in company with our 
ox-team, loaded with our salt pork, pease, and candlestick bot- 
toms for bread, and the barrel of rum to cheer our spirits and 
wash our feet, which began to be sore by travelling, we came 
to Roxbury, the place of our destination. Here the place of our 
encampment was already marked out, and a part of our regi- 
ment on the spot. For every six soldiers there was a tent pro- 
vided. The ground it covered was about six or seven feet 
square. This served for kitchen, parlour, and hall. The green 
turf, covered with a blanket, was our bed and bedstead. When 
we turned in for the night, we had to lie perfectly straight, like 
candles in a box : this was not pleasant to our hip bones and 
knee joints, which often, in the night, would wake us, and beg 
us to turn over Our household utensils, all together, were an 
iron pot, a canteen or wooden bottle holding two quarts, a pail, 
and wooden bowl. Each had to do his own washing, and take 
his turn at the cookery." 



1775.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 341 

petition the king for opening a negotiation to ac- 
commodate the dispute, and to send an address to 
the people of Great Britain and Quebec. They 
then, on the 22d, appointed George Washington 
commander-in-chief, and promised to maintain, as- 
sist, and adhere to him with their lives and for- 
tunes, while they enjoined upon him special care 
"that the liberties of America receive no detri- 
ment." On the 6th of July they declared the 
causes which led them to take up arms. Wash- 
ington was already at the head of the troops as- 
sembled about Boston, and committees of safety, 
according to the recommendation of Congress, 
were in active operation in the colonies. Paper 
money, to the amount of three millions, was soon 
issued by the United Colonies, each colony being 
bound to redeem its settled proportion. In July, 
Georgia, the last of the thirteen colonies, joined 
the Union. The people had now possession of the 
arms, ammunition, and, generally, of the public mon- 
ey, before under the control of the royal governors ; 
and associations were formed to secure the public 
peace. 

Still independence was not yet the object of the 
colonies, as is proved by many documents published 
in all parts of the country. Only the county of 
Mecklenburgh, North Carolina, had declared their 
allegiance to the king to be absolved and broken. 

Connecticut was very differently situated at the 
commencement of the war from some of the other 
states. While the governors of Virginia, New- 
Jersey, and New- York, as well as Massachusetts, 
were among the decided loyalists, Jonathan Trum- 
bull, the governor of Connecticut, was wholly de- 
Ff2 



342 PATRIOTISM OF GOV. TRUMBULL. [1775. 

voted to the cause of the country, while the vast 
majority of the people were his warm and unwaver- 
ing supporters. 

On General Washington's approach to the city 
of New-York, the city authorities debated whether 
they should receive him with public honours, or 
reserve them for a British officer of distinction who 
was hourly expected from England ; and it has 
been thought that the former would have passed 
unnoticed by them had the latter first arrived. 
There was no such vacillation or coolness in Con- 
necticut. The commander-in-chief was welcomed 
with open arms and by all classes. He reached 
New-Haven early in July, accompanied by Gen- 
eral Lee and Major Mifflin ; and the next day was 
escorted for some miles by two military companies, 
a body of citizens, and a number of the students of 
Yale College. Of the sentiments of the state, as 
well as of those entertained by the distinguished pa- 
triot, statesman, and Christian who then held the 
highest office in the colony, some opinion may be 
formed by the following 

Extracts from a letter from Governor Trumbull to 
General Washington, dated July 13th, 1775. 

" Suffer me to join in congratulating you on your 
appointment to be general and commander-in-chief 
of the troops raised or to be raised for the defence 
of American liberty. Men who have tasted of 
freedom, and who have felt their personal rights, 
are not easily taught to bear with encroachments 
on either, or brought to submit to oppression. Vir- 
tue ought always to be made the object of govern. 
ment ; justice is firm and permanent. 



1775.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 343 

" His majesty's ministers have artfully induced 
Parliament to join in their measures, to prosecute 
the dangerous and increasing difference between 
Great Britain and these colonies with rigour and 
military force ; whereby the latter are driven by 
an absolute necessity to defend their rights and 
properties, by raising forces for their security. 
The honourable Congress have, with one united 
voice, appointed you to the high station you possess. 
The Supreme Director of all events has caused a 
wonderful union of hearts and counsels to subsist 
among us. Now, therefore, be strong and very 
courageous. May the God of the armies of Israel 
shower down the blessings of his divine Providence 
upon you, give you wisdom and fortitude, cover your 
head in the day of battle and danger, add success, 
convince our enemies of their mistaken measures, 
and that all their attempts to deprive these colonies 
of their constitutional rights and liberties are injuri- 
ous and vain." Ju&l 

On the 3d of June Washington reached the army, 
assumed the command, and established his head- 
quarters at Cambridge. There the reserve, con- 
sisting of the Massachusetts troops, was quartered 
in the college buildings and neighbouring dwelling, 
houses. He immediately visited the several posts 
occupied by the Americans, the number of whom 
was only 11,500, when, at least, 22,000 were con- 
sidered necessary to act against the supposed force 
of the enemy. 

The Connecticut troops must have received Gen- 
eral Washington with an enthusiasm no way infe- 
rior to that which pervaded the ranks of the army 
in general, when he climbed to their camp and for- 



344 POSITION OF THE ARMIES. [1775. 

tifications on Prospect Hill, attended by their fa- 
vourite leader Putnam, to whom, and to whom alone, 
he had already given one of the commissions of ma- 
jor-general intrusted to him by Congress. From 
that commanding position they could look down 
upon the main body of the British troops, then 
actively engaged in strongly intrenching them- 
selves on Bunker's Hill, a fine eminence on Charles- 
town Neck, scarcely more than a mile distant. At 
the base of it were seen the ruins of the village 
lately destroyed by fire. The Connecticut soldiers, 
most of whom had never before been in the field, 
could see from their commanding height the town 
of Boston, with the strong intrenchments formed 
on Copp's Hill, then occupied by a small force : 
there being only the British light-horse and a few 
cavalry in the town. Roxbury Neck, the narrow 
isthmus connecting it with the main land, was 
guarded by strong intrenchments, well supplied 
with cannon, and manned by all the remaining 
British forces. Near at hand were three floating 
batteries in Mystic River, while a twenty-gun ship 
lay below the ferry between Boston and Charles- 
town. The first council of war, held on the 19th, 
estimated the enemy's force at 11,500 men. 

Such was the position of the enemy : while the 
American extreme left was formed by about 2000 
New-Hampshiremen and some Rhode Islanders on 
Winter Hill, which rose near at hand from the 
shore of Mystic River. The Connecticut post lay 
next ; and the line swept round in a noble semicir- 
cle of twelve miles, taking in Sewal's Farm, with 
the Rhode Island main body behind its fresh em- 
bankments, and a large number of Massachusetts 
troops at Cambridge, the centre. 



1775.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 345 

Extending their view towards the south, there 
were to be seen many little redoubts scattered 
along the shore of Charles River or Bay, where 
small parties of Massachusetts men stood ready to 
prevent every boat from landing ; and, finally, the 
right, which was at Roxbury. There a high bank, 
and a broad and deep trench, showed where a por- 
tion of the Connecticut troops had joined nine Mas- 
sachusetts regiments, with equal resolution to 
watch the neighbouring line of the enemy across 
the isthmus, arid to resist any attempt to pass it. 
From the height of Prospect Hill, many Connecti- 
cut men caught the first view of military scenes ; 
and there began their laborious and dangerous ca- 
reer, which many of them pursued to the end of the 
war, borne up by that ardent and unconquerable 
patriotism, without which it could not have met a 
prosperous termination. Their vigorous arms as- 
sisted in digging many of those deep intrenchments 
which we still see near Boston. 

Here began also the labours and trials of the 
commander-in-chief, which were more severe and 
not less prolonged : for, although it is evident, from 
his modest, manly, and patriotic address to Con- 
gress on receiving his appointment, that he antici- 
pated great difficulties, his letters from Cambridge 
show that they were more numerous and formida- 
ble than he was prepared for. He had only given 
out the first commission, viz., that to General Put- 
nam, when he learned that great dissatisfaction al- 
ready prevailed among the troops, especially the of- 
ficers, some of whom had been superseded by their 
juniors, and others had other grounds of complaint. 
General Pomeroy, of Massachusetts, who had great- 



346 Washington's trials. [1775- 

ly distinguished himself at Bunker Hill, was so much 
disaffected that he refused to join the Continental 
army, and returned home. 

Washington therefore declined conferring the 
other commissions, and requested Congress to make 
the appointments ; and accordingly, on the 22d of 
June, they appointed the following brigadier gen- 
erals : Seth Pomeroy, of Massachusetts, Richard 
Montgomery, of New-York, David Wooster, of 
Connecticut, William Heath, of Massachusetts, 
Joseph Spencer, of Connecticut, John Thomas, of 
Massachusetts, John Sullivan, of New-Hampshire, 
and Nathaniel Greene, of Rhode Island. General 
Spencer at first declined his commission, but after- 
ward determined to serve under Putnam, though 
he had commanded him ; and, by Washington's 
great exertions and prudence, jealousies were over- 
come. The want of powder and money caused 
great uneasiness, as well as the bad state of the 
commissary department. Washington, in his first 
letter to Congress, proposed that a commissary- 
general should be appointed, after the plan adopted 
in Connecticut, "whose troops," said he. "are ex- 
tremely well provided under the direction of Mr. 
Trumbull ; and he has, at different times, assisted 
others with various articles." He proposed Mr. 
Trumbull (a son of the governor) for that office ; 
and he received the appointment. The regiments 
from different colonies were of different sizes : 
those of Massachusetts containing about 800 men, 
while those of Connecticut, which were the largest, 
consisted of 1100. 

Besides all these difficulties, other very serious 
ones were threatened by the short periods of en- 



1775.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 347 

listments. The Connecticut troops had engaged to 
serve only until the 1st of December ; and, by the 
close of the year, there was apprehension that the 
entire army would be disbanded about that time ; 
and that the enemy were awaiting that period to 
come out from their defences and lay waste the 
country. To remedy the various evils or to avoid 
their ill consequences, Washington was anxiously 
devoting much of his time ; and Governor Trum- 
bull sympathized deeply with him, and was one of 
his most active and efficient co-operators. Wash- 
ington, however, found leisure to carry on an ex- 
tensive correspondence, and to plan and despatch 
an expedition into Canada, to capture Quebec and 
co-operate with General Schuyler, who went down 
Lake Champlain, and, after some weeks, took Mon- 
treal. General Arnold was placed in the com- 
mand of 1500 men, and conducted them (except 
a party who returned) through every hardship, by 
the way of Kennebeck River, through the wilder- 
ness of Maine to the St. Lawrence, calculating on 
being joined by the people and Indians. In these 
expectations he was disappointed, as well as in his 
hopes of capturing the city. It had been proposed 
to leave General Wooster at Ticonderoga, fearing 
he would not serve under Montgomery : but the 
Connecticut troops who had garrisoned the forts 
on the lake, having been raised by the colony, 
chose to act under its authority, and were unwill- 
ing to go to Canada unless led by General Woos- 
ter. He also, with a patriotic disinterestedness, 
declared that he would serve under Montgomery, 
though his junior, out of love for the country ; and 



348 DEPREDATIONS ON THE COAST. [1775. 

the Connecticut troops went with him against St. 
John's and Montreal. 

The results of Arnold's expedition are well 
known. After scaling the steep rocks to the 
Plains of Abraham with his troops, and suffering 
long and greatly while besieging Quebec, at length, 
being joined by Montgomery in a night attack on 
the city, in a snowstorm, the latter was killed, a 
considerable number were made prisoners, and the 
remainder were forced to retire, though large re- 
enforcements were sent. 

In September, 1775, some English vessels from 
Boston, which had committed depredations on dif- 
ferent parts of the coast of New-England, appeared 
near Connecticut. They had burned Falmouth, 
now Portland, and afterward bombarded Stoning, 
ton and New-London, and robbed some of the 
small islands in the Sound of considerable property. 
Governor Trumbull ordered several companies oi 
troops, which had been enlisted for the Continental 
army, to remain near the coast, giving General 
Washington notice, in a letter on the 5th of Sep- 
tember. Washington, however, without making 
any reply, on the 8th sent orders for the troops to 
march immediately to Boston. Governor Trum- 
bull expressed regret and surprise ; and the com- 
mander-in-chief justified himself by saying that 
Congress had directed that such local service must 
be committed to the militia, and that he had no dis- 
cretionary power in the case, greatly regretting 
that he could not extend protection to every place 
exposed to the enemy. This appears to have been 
the only instance in which even the slightest dissat- 
isfaction existed in Connecticut with the measures 



1775.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 349 

of the commander-in-chief; and it was but mo- 
mentary, and arose chiefly from his neglect to an- 
swer the governor's first letter. The new levies 
from Connecticut had marched into camp before 
the 12th of October, when Washington remarked 
in one of his letters, " they are a body of as good 
troops as any we have." 

Persons favourable to the British interest, about 
this time, it appears, caused much disquietude in 
Connecticut : as Governor Trumbull wrote to Wash- 
ington in November, inquiring whether they ought 
not to be seized, and prevented from counteracting 
the spirit of the people. Dr. Church, who was 
taken on suspicion of treason, was sent to Connec- 
ticut, to be kept by Governor Trumbull in close con- 
finement. An English prisoner, a Major French, 
who had been sent to Hartford from Philadelphia 
for safe keeping, made repeated complaints, because 
he was not permitted to wear his sword : but Wash- 
ington replied that for any inconvenience to which 
he might be put, he must consider his countrymen 
in Boston to blame, as they had treated American 
prisoners with unnecessary severity. 

Congress were very desirous of preventing the 
Indians from engaging in the war ; and, on the 
12th of July, 1775, formed an Indian Department 
to treat with them, " to preserve peace and friend- 
ship, and to prevent their taking any part in the 
present commotions." It was divided into three 
sub-departments, northern, middle, and southern; 
and Mr. Oliver Wolcott was appointed one of the 
five commissioners of the first. A plan of the ad- 
dresses to be made by them to the different tribes 
was drawn up by Congress, in the figurative lan- 
Gg 



350 NEGOTIATIONS WITH THE INDIANS. [1775. 

guage usually employed on such occasions, which 
was to be varied in points of minor importance to 
suit circumstances. The following extracts plainly 
show that the honest intention was to secure the 
neutrality of the Indians. 

" This is a family quarrel between us and Old 
England. You Indians are not concerned in .it. 
We do not wish you to take up the hatchet against 
the king's troops. We desire you to remain at 
home, and not join on either side, but keep the 
hatchet buried deep. In the name and behalf of 
all our beloved people, we ask you to love peace 
and maintain it, and to love and sympathize with 
us in our troubles." 

It is so inhuman to induce Indians to attack de- 
fenceless people, and destroy peaceful and harmless 
families, that every American must feel gratified 
to read the following declaration, which was made 
in the British parliament by Mr. Burke, on the 6th 
of February, 1778. " No proof whatever," he said, 
" had been given of the Americans having attempt- 
ed offensive alliances with any one tribe of savages ; 
whereas the imperfect papers now before that 
house demonstrated that the king's ministers had 
negotiated and obtained such alliances from one end 
of the Continent of America to the other ; that the 
Americans had actually made a treaty on the footing 
of neutrality with the famous Five Nations, which 
the king's ministers had bribed them to violate, and 
to act offensively against the colonies ; that no at- 
tempt had been made in a single instance to pro- 
cure a neutrality ; that if the fact had been that 
the Americans had actually employed those sava- 
ges, yet the difference of employing them against 



1775.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 351 

armed and trained soldiers, imbodied and encamp- 
ed, and employing them against the unarmed and 
defenceless men, women, and children of a country, 
dispersed in their houses, was manifest, and left 
those who attempted so inhuman and unequal a 
retaliation without excuse." 

It has always been unaccountable that the Brit, 
ish army made no attempt to raise the siege of 
Boston. They could hardly have been ignorant 
of the changeable state of the army and their 
want of powder. They, however, suffered them- 
selves to be shut in on the land side ; and several 
times the Americans proposed a general attack. 
On the 5th of October Washington described the 
situation of the enemy as " in a manner surrounded 
by ships of war and floating batteries," so that it 
would be " impossible to break their lines without 
great slaughter on our side, or cowardice on theirs, 
so that we could do no more than keep them be- 
sieged, which they are, to all effects and purposes, 
as closely as any troops on earth can be, who have 
an opening to the sea." The advanced works 
were within musket-shot, and the British troops 
kept up a daily cannonade. 



352 THE ARMY DISBANDING. [1775. 



CHAPTER XLI. 1775-1776. 

Discontent of the Militia at Boston. — Spirited Measures of 
Connecticut to furnish Re-enforcements. — Volunteers raised 
there for New- York. — Colonel Knowlton.— News of the Dis- 
asters in Canada.— Troops sent thither! — Preparations to 
evacuate Boston.— Washington occupies Lechmere's Point 
and Dorchester Heights.— The British retire in Haste.— The 
Americans enter and occupy Boston— The Troops sent off to 
New-York in Detachments. — Military Arrangements. — Loy- 
alists sent to Connecticut for Security. 

As the time approached when the enlistments 
would expire, Congress appointed a committee to 
confer with committees of the New-England colo- 
nies on measures to be taken ; and Connecticut 
appointed Messrs. Griswold and Wales to attend 
the important council. They proceeded to Cam- 
bridge, and the conference was opened on the 18th 
of October, the commander-in-chief being pres- 
ent. The proceedings of a council of war were 
laid before them, which were generally adopted ; 
and it was agreed that the army ought not to be 
less than 20,372 men, or twenty-six regiments 
of eight companies, exclusive of riflemen and ar- 
tillery ; and that as many of the present troops as 
possible should be re-enlisted. It was thought that 
20,000 might be raised in Massachusetts, 8000 in 
Connecticut, 3000 in New-Hampshire, and 1500 
in Rhode Island. Other business having been 
done, the conference closed on the 22d. 

The Connecticut troops at Boston did not in- 



1775.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 353 

cline to enlist again ; and, as the term of service 
of most of them would expire from the 1st to the 
10th of December, Washington learned with regret 
that they were resolved to return home at that 
time, especially as the enemy were receiving re- 
enforcements, and he thought they designed an at- 
tack. 

The officers had at first expressed a strong opin- 
ion that they would consent to remain until the 1st 
of January, when they might hope to be relieved 
by others : but the men refused ; and, by the 1st of 
December, many left the lines to return home, 
some before their term had expired, and taking 
their arms and ammunition with them. Colonel 
Trumbull was sent to recall them, and many re- 
turned. Washington wrote to Governor Trum- 
bull, inquiring " whether an example should not be 
made of these men, who have basely deserted the 
cause of their country at this critical juncture." 
The governor replied, that " the late extraordinary 
and reprehensible conduct of some of the troops of 
this colony impresses me, and the minds of many 
of our people, with grief, surprise, and indigna- 
tion." He added, "the pulse of a New-Bngland 
man beats high for liberty ; his engagement in the 
service he thinks purely voluntary ; therefore, when 
his term of enlistment is out, he thinks himself not 
holden without farther engagement. This was the 
case in the last war." He stated, that he had de- 
termined to call the General Assembly together at 
New-Haven on the 14th, and requested Washing, 
ton to suggest anything he might wish to have 
submitted to them. 

It appears, however, that all except 80 of the 
Gg2 



354 MEASURES OF THE ASSEMBLY. [1775. 

Connecticut troops consented to remain until the 
10th ; and Washington called in 3000 men from 
Massachusetts and 2000 from New-Hampshire to 
take their places ; but he had serious apprehen- 
sions that all the other troops would leave him at 
the expiration of their terms, as the enlistments 
went on very slowly. The Rev. Mr. Leonard, 
chaplain to the Connecticut troops, received high 
recommendation from the commander-in-chief, not 
only for his general conduct and the discharge of 
his duties, but for "a sensible and judicious dis- 
course" at the time of difficulty. Governor Trum- 
bull acquainted Washington that many of the in- 
habitants of his colony, on hearing of the conduct 
of the troops, had offered to march to the camp 
to supply their places. The General Assembly, 
about the close of the year, adopted a measure 
which showed their zeal, and afforded great satis- 
faction to the commander-in-chief. They passed 
an act for raising and equipping, by voluntary en- 
listment, one fourth part of the militia of the col- 
ony, and all the exempts who might be willing to act 
as minute men for the defence of any of the colo- 
nies. They also declared forfeit the estates of 
persons guilty of aiding or informing the enemy, 
or receiving British protections ; and the former, 
also, liable to imprisonment for three years. Speak- 
ing or writing against the acts of Congress or the 
Assembly was made punishable by disarming, dis- 
qualification from holding any office, and even im- 
prisonment. It was farther resolved to provide 
two vessels of 14 and 16 guns, a spy-schooner of 
4, and four row-galleys ; the soldiers of the last and 
the ensuing campaigns were released from the poll- 



1776.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 355 

tax ; and encouragement was offered for the ma- 
king of saltpetre and gunpowder. A furnace was 
in operation at the lead-mine in Middletown ; and 
the governor wrote to the commander-in-chief on 
the 1st of January, 1776, that 20 or 30 tons of 
lead might be expected to be smelted. 

As it was supposed that they intended to seize 
upon Newport or New-York, Major-general Lee 
was first sent to the former place, to determine 
how it might be best put in a posture of defence. 
He was afterward ordered to New-York, to fortify 
that city in the best manner, with letters to Gov- 
ernor Trumbull from Washington, who requested 
that volunteers might be raised in Connecticut to 
serve under him, and hoped they might be obtained 
without farther expense to the country than their 
maintenance. Washington afterward directed Lee 
to take two regiments to Long Island, and act 
against the numerous royalists there ; but Congress 
countermanded the order ; and Washington, with 
an expression of regret, ordered Lee to disband 
his troops as soon as he could do it with safety. 

About the middle of January, a bold and success- 
ful blow was struck at Charlestown by Major 
Knowlton and a party of his Connecticut soldiers. 
Taking advantage of a stormy night, they crossed 
the milldam, captured several British soldiers, and 
burned eight houses near Bunker's Hill. 

Great hopes had been entertained of the success 
of the expedition against Quebec, although the Ca- 
nadians and Indians appeared backward : but about 
the middle of January news arrived of the unfor- 
tunate attempt made against that city on the night 
of December 25th, the death of Montgomery and 



356 HUMANITY OF GENERAL CARLETON. [1776. 

the wounding of Arnold. Colonel Warner imme- 
diately set off for Canada with the Connecticut 
troops under his command, to assist the unfortu- 
nate survivors ; and Governor Trumbull called the 
Council of Safety, who at once ordered 750 men 
to be raised for Canada. Soon after, he received 
notice from Washington that a council of war had 
determined to request the New-England colonies to 
raise thirteen regiments for the purpose of making a 
general attack on Boston, of which four regiments 
were apportioned to Connecticut ; and that a later 
council, which had met since the arrival of the 
news from Quebec, had determined that three of 
the regiments should be sent to Canada. It was 
equally gratifying to the governor and the com- 
mander-in-chief that Connecticut had so far antici- 
pated this requisition. The three regiments were 
soon raised, and that from Connecticut was placed 
under the command of Colonel Burrell. Congress 
also ordered nine battalions on the same service. 
In spite of all these exertions, however, the Cana- 
dians were too ignorant to feel their injuries or to 
perceive their duties to themselves or their poster- 
ity ; and, having no affection for liberty, which they 
had never enjoyed nor understood, they showed no 
sympathy with those who had come to assist them, 
with very erroneous impressions of their character 
and wishes. 

It was happy for the American prisoners at Que- 
bec that so kind and humane a man as Gener- 
al Carleton was then in command at that city. 
When Major Meigs returned a few months after- 
ward, having been one of the prisoners, he spoke 
in terms of gratitude of his humanity and kindness. 



1776.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 357 

The soldiers were confined in the Jesuits' College, 
and the officers in the seminary ; and all enjoyed 
as much liberty and as many privileges as could 
have been reasonable : while some of them, on 
their release, were furnished with clothing, and the 
sick and wounded were treated with tenderness in 
the hospital. 

Towards the close of February the British re- 
moved their two mortars from Bunker's Hill, ship- 
ped their brass cannon, and had their vessels pre- 
pared for sea. From these and other circumstan- 
ces, it was presumed that they intended to evacu- 
ate Boston ; and Washington extended his line to 
Lechmere's Point, though fearful of weakening it. 
With great labour, strong batteries were erected 
there in the frozen ground, which commanded a 
large part of Boston. During the night of the 4th 
of March, General Thomas was sent to occupy 
Dorchester Heights, which he fortified with a vast 
quantity of fascines and chandeliers before the 
dawn of morning. 

The enemy, having been prevented by a storm 
from attacking the position before it was too strong, 
finding that some inferior and nearer eminences 
could command the harbour and town, began to 
load their ships in the greatest haste. On the 17th 
their troops were seen marching down Bunker's 
Hill, and two men were sent to the spot, who made 
signals that it was deserted. As many boats were 
seen leaving Boston, General Putnam crossed to 
Sewal's Point, landed without opposition, and the 
troops from Roxbury soon opened the enemy's 
gates, and, finding their powerful lines guarded 
only by a few stuffed jackets in th<* forms of sen- 



358 THE ARMY AT NEW-YORK. [1776. 

tinels, the whole town was soon in possession of 
General Putnam, to the great joy of the remaining 
inhabitants. 

The enemy's ships, amounting to 78, lay in Nan- 
tasket Roads, ten miles from Boston, for ten days, 
which left their intentions doubtful ; so that Wash- 
ington sent off at first only a few regiments for 
New-York. Most of the remainder soon followed. 
They were marched to Norwich, Connecticut, 
where they embarked, in vessels provided before- 
hand, for New-York. On the 29th General Put- 
nam was ordered to follow, and complete the forti- 
fications there planned by General Lee ; while 
General Thomas was on his way to Canada, to 
take the chief command there. Washington him. 
self set out for New-York on the 4th of April. 
Governor Trumbull visited him at Norwich, where 
they held an interview. On his arrival at New- 
York, he found the troops actively engaged in dig- 
ging intrenchments on Staten and Long Islands, 
and in making other preparations, hourly expect- 
ing the enemy's arrival. These works had been 
begun under Brigadier-general Lord Sterling, by 
the 2000 Connecticut militia on the spot, and a few 
from New- Jersey. Congress had ordered out 1000 
from the latter colony, and some from New-York 
and New-Jersey: but very few had arrived. The 
Connecticut militia were discharged not long af- 
ter, when their term expired. Being generally 
farmers, their presence at home was necessary at 
ploughing-time. The government and citizens of 
New-York had not yet generally espoused the 
common cause with as much zeal as New-Eng- 
land and some of the southern colonies, which ren- 



1776.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 359 

dered it necessary to bring in more troops from 
abroad. At the close of April there were but 
about 10,000 troops at New-York, including 2000 
on furlough ; and six more regiments were to go to 
Canada. 

The smallness of the army gave Washington 
much uneasiness; and he wrote to Governor 
Trumbull the day after the report was made out, 
that, unless a body of select troops from the west- 
ern part of Connecticut and New-Jersey should be 
organized, and prepared to march at the first notice 
of the enemy's arrival, he feared any other ar- 
rangements would require too much time and prove 



In May, General Washington having been called 
to Philadelphia to confer with Congress, he left 
General Putnam in command, with instructions to 
afford military aid to the New. York provincial Con- 
gress in their exertions to apprehend persons dis- 
affected with the revolution in that colony, who were 
said to be plotting in favour of the enemy. Num- 
bers were taken and imprisoned in Connecticut. 

A flying camp was ordered, in June, to be form- 
ed in the Middle Department, to be ready to march 
to any point ; and 13,800 militia were ordered to 
be raised in Connecticut, New-York, and New-Jer- 
sey, and sent to New-York. The Canada army 
was suffering much from smallpox (of which Gen- 
eral Thomas had died), and finally had to retire 
before General Burgoyne. General Wooster was 
ordered home, and went to present himself before 
Congress. Re-enforcements were sent to the 
north, where General Gates now had the com- 
mand ; and Fort Stanwix was rebuilt : but the 



360 ARRIVAL OF THE BRITISH FLEET. [1776, 

Americans were finally obliged to retire to Crown 
Point. There was now much reason to fear that 
the enemy might occupy the line of Lake Cham- 
plain and Hudson River; and Fort Washington 
was formed, with several redoubts and breastworks, 
on Harlsem River, while the militia were called in 
from the western part of Connecticut, to assist those 
of New- York in occupying and fortifying the High- 
lands, to prevent the loyalists from seizing them. 

Among the prisoners sent to Connecticut was 
Governor Franklin, of New- Jersey, who was placed, 
under the care of Governor Trumbull, with liberty 
to go at large on parole if he should choose, or 
otherwise to be confined. 



CHAPTER XLII. 1776. 

British Fleet under General and Lord Howe begins to arrive al 
New- York.— Declaration of Independence.— Unfortunate Sit- 
uation of General Knox and the Army on Lake Champlain. 
—British Re-enforcements at Staten Island. — Call on Con- 
necticut for more Troops.— Fourteen Regiments march under 
Colonel Wolcott — The Battle of Long Island.— Retreat of 
the Americans. — Miutia Desert.— New Re-enforcements from 
Connecticut. — New- York Evacuated by the Americans. — 
They are driven into New-Jersey.— Battles of Trenton and 
Princeton. 

About the close of June, the British fleet arrived 
at Staten Island in detachments, where they were 
well received by the inhabitants ; and, encouraged 
by the promises of Governor Tryon, of New-York, 
and many royalists, prepared to operate in case 
negotiation should fail. 



1776.] HISTORY OP CONNECTICUT. 361 

When news was received of the fate of the pe- 
tition sent to the king by the Congress, all hope of 
reconciliation disappeared. He had refused to 
hear it read, and declared to Parliament that the 
colonies were in open rebellion, and intended to 
establish an independent empire ; that he had in- 
creased the forces, and also intended to appoint 
persons to grant pardons and receive the submission 
of such colonies as might wish to return to their 
allegiance. Parliament passed an act forbidding 
commerce with the colonies, giving their vessels, 
and all foreign vessels trading with them, to those 
who might capture them, while the crews might be 
forced to serve in the British navy, even in war 
against their countrymen. In short, the king's 
ministers said that the olive-branch should be of- 
fered to the Americans with one hand, and the 
sword with the other, and they were to make their 
choice. Sixteen thousand foreign troops were 
soon levied and sent to America : yet it required 
much argument and reflection to bring the people 
of the colonies to decide on a final separation from 
England ; and some chose to accept of pardon as 
offered by Lord Howe. This was done by 960 
persons in New-York in a single day. 

Congress, however, immediately admitted the 
ships of all nations to their ports, and encouraged 
the capture of British property. The Assembly 
of Connecticut, on the 14th of June, 1776, unani- 
mously agreed to instruct their representatives in 
the approaching Congress " to give their assent to 
a declaration of independence, and to unite in 
measures for forming foreign alliances, and pro- 
moting a plan of union among the colonies." This 
Hb 



362 MOVEMENTS OF THE ENEMY. [i776. 

was after a similar step had been taken by North 
Carolina, Virginia, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, 
and New-Hampshire ; and Maryland and Pennsyl- 
vania had instructed theirs to oppose it. Mr. 
Lee, of Virginia, had already proposed the subject 
in Congress, on the 7th of June, and it had been 
postponed till the 1st of July. Conventions were 
held in several of the colonies, in which the peo- 
ple expressed their wishes in favour of the Dec- 
laration of Independence : so that on the 4th of 
July it was adopted by a vote of the whole. The 
delegates from Connecticut whose names are signed 
to that important document, were Roger Sherman, 
Samuel Huntington, William Williams, and Oliver 
Wolcott. 

Troops came into New- York very slowly : but 
Colonel Seymour arrived on the 8th, with a part of 
three regiments of light-horse. These, to the num- 
ber of 400 or 500, were actuated by such a spirit, 
that, when informed by Washington that there was 
no forage provided for their horses, they got them 
pastured at Kingsbridge, offering to pay the ex- 
pense themselves if Congress should decline, and 
to serve as long as they might be needed. They 
were, however, dismissed in July, not being will- 
ing to do fatigue or sentinel duty. 

Lord Howe, on the 12th, sent a letter addressed 
to " George Washington, Esq.," doubtless with pro- 
posals to treat of peace : but it was not received, 
Congress having instructed the commander-in-chief 
to hold no communication with the British govern- 
ment, unless they would acknowledge the inde- 
pendence which had been declared. 

Two of the enemy's ships took advantage of the 



1776.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 363 

tide and wind on the 13th of July, and sailed up 
the North River, without suffering materially from 
the batteries, and moored in Tappan Bay, about 
40 miles above. They were the Phcenix, 44 guns, 
and Rose, 20. There they were out of the reach 
of shot from the shore, and cut off all communica- 
tion with the army under General Knox about 
Lake George. That general was in a painful sit- 
uation. He had just evacuated Crown Point, and 
retired to Mount Independence, opposite Ticonde- 
roga, on account of scarcity of provisions and sick- 
ness in his army, the main body of which was now 
at Lake George. Between May 1st and July 
15th, he lost 5000 men by death and desertion ; and 
3000 were now sick. One quarter of all the mili- 
tia of the four neighbouring counties of New-York 
were ordered out, under General George Clinton. 

Washington sought to annoy the enemy by every 
means. Major Knowlton, who was stationed at 
Bergen, New-Jersey, was appointed to head a par- 
ty of Continental troops, on the 18th of July, to the 
point opposite Staten Island, and cross in boats to 
make an attack, supported by General Mercer. 
But the plan was defeated by tempestuous weather. 
Another project to take 3900 men failed for want 
of boats. 

But the American army had soon to prepare for 
an attack from a powerful enemy. Early in Au- 
gust Governor Trumbull received a letter from 
Washington, informing him that the whole British 
fleet was soon to arrive at Staten Island, amount- 
ing, including Hessian troops, to about 30,000 
men ; and that he had not above one third that 
number, consisting chiefly of raw troops, scattered 



364 BATTLE OF LONG ISLAND. [1776. 

over 15 miles of country. The governor immedi- 
ately summoned the Council of Safety, who de- 
spatched to New-York, with all haste, 14 regi- 
ments, including the five western ones, under Col- 
onel Oliver Wolcott as brigadier-general. They 
also proposed the formation of volunteer compa- 
nies. The 14 regiments, as he informed the com- 
mander-in-chief, consisted of" substantial farmers." 
He soon after furnished two row-galleys. 

On the 22d of August, 8000 or 9000 of the ene- 
my embarked and landed at Gravesend on Long 
Island. Marching to Flatbush, they lay within 
three miles of the American line. Colonel Hand 
having been forced to retreat before them. General 
Sullivan commanded the works in front instead of 
General Greene, who was sick, the entire com- 
mand being under General Putnam. Washington 
immediately sent over six battalions, having re- 
ceived re-enforcements of nine small regiments from 
Connecticut. The enemy, on the 17th of August, 
having surprised two American detachments in the 
woods below Gowannis, attacked the third, under 
Lord Percy, with overwhelming numbers, and, al- 
though gallantly resisted, killed and captured a 
large part of them. Their main body then march- 
ing round through Bedford, turned the American 
left flank ; and Putnam, on hearing their firing, 
hastened to meet them, being unable to afford any 
assistance to his right wing. About 800 Ameri- 
cans were killed, wounded, and made prisoners ; 
of whom more than two thirds were among the 
last. The troops which principally suffered were 
from New-Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Delaware, 
and Colonel Huntington's regiment. The enemy 



1776.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 365 

had gained such advantages that it was thought 
by some they would have captured all the remain- 
ing troops at Brooklyn if they had not encamped. 
But Washington, with admirable generalship, sue- 
ceeded in transporting them all to New- York on 
the 27th, under cover of a thick mist, while the 
English received the submission of many of the 
inhabitants of Long Island, and extended their lines 
to Newtown and Flushing. 

After the retreat to New- York, great numbers 
of the militia left the army ; and those from Con- 
necticut were soon reduced to 2000. One quarter 
o^ the remaining troops were sick, and there were 
tents for only two thirds. General Greene urged 
the burning of the city, and an immediate retreat : 
but a majority of the officers opposed it, and 5000 
men were ordered to remain in it, 9000 at Kings, 
bridge, and the rest between. Congress, however, 
soon ordered the troops to march out ; and a sud- 
den attack gave the militia a panic, which was 
shared by the Continental soldiers, and the retreat 
was made with a disgraceful haste. Washington 
was once narrowly saved from being made a pris- 
oner. The sick, however, had been sent to New- 
Jersey, and most of the stores removed. 

Governor Trumbull had written, ere this, that 
more troops would soon come from Connecticut ; 
and Washington, with thanks, remarked that his 
troops had generally been collected and put in mo- 
tion as soon as demanded. The army was soon 
posted on the Heights of Harlaem ; and, on the 16th, 
they were much inspirited by the successful repulse 
of a party of the enemy. The brave Colonel 
Knowlton. however, was mortally wounded. The 
Hh2 



366 POSITION OF THE ENEMY. [1776, 

British force now amounted to about 25,000, while 
the Americans, fit for duty, were not more than 
12,000 or 14,000. The latter suffered in an affair 
at White Plains, and were obliged to relinquish one 
post after another, until Fort Washington alone 
was occupied by them, on the east side of the Hud. 
son, south of the Bronx, which now formed their 
line. The posts and passes of the Highlands were 
occupied by Connecticut and Massachusetts troops, 
and General Clinton's New-York militia brigade, 
under General Heath. General Wooster, with 
some Connecticut troops, was at Stamford at the 
command of General Lee, who was stationed at 
the Bronx. 

Fort Washington was taken by assault, and thus 
Westchester County, New-York, was left open to 
the enemy. By the extreme activity of the Amer- 
icans, however, they were so much harassed that 
they did not advance their lines ; and the wide 
space between the two armies was neutral ground, 
open to marauding parties from both. Washing- 
ton, having drawn off what troops remained with 
him to New-Jersey, prepared to spend the winter 
Where he might, with the most gloomy prospects 
of danger and suffering. At no period was the 
condition of the country more sad and dispiriting. 
General Carleton, however, had failed in his attempt 
to bring a British army down to the colonies, al- 
though Lake Champlain had been left almost open 
to him, and had returned to Canada. Three regi- 
ments from the northern army therefore marched 
through the interior of New-York, and joined 
Washington after he had retired to the Delaware ; 
while three others, taking the eastern side of the 
Hudson, re-enforced General Lee on Croton River. 



1776.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 367 

Washington, having succeeded in getting the 
baggage of the army over the Delaware at Tren- 
ton, returned to Princeton, and ordered General Lee 
to join him, but to leave the troops which had been 
stationed to guard the Highlands of the Hudson. 
Unsupported by the government and people of 
New-Jersey, he sent to Philadelphia for re-enforce- 
ments : but, being pursued by General Howe with 
a vastly superior force of about 10,000, he was un- 
able to make any stand. At the same time, the 
British commander having issued an offer of free 
pardon, in the king's name, to all who would sub- 
mit and promise not to take up arms, the people 
held back, and seemed almost ready to accept the 
terms. After expecting General Lee for some 
time in vain, he learned that he had been made 
a prisoner at Basking Ridge, on the 13th of De- 
cember, on leaving a house which he had visited 
alone, with most unaccountable imprudence, three 
miles distant from his troops. Congress, appre- 
hending the capture of Philadelphia, removed to 
Baltimore, after placing almost supreme power in 
the hands of Washington. 

In this state of things, New-England was making 
great exertions to send re-enforcements. Massa- 
chusetts ordered out 6000 militia to rendezvous 
at Danbury, Connecticut, under General Lincoln. 
Orders had been sent to General Heath to march 
to New-Jersey, when Washington received a letter 
from Governor Trumbull, saying that a large ene- 
my's fleet had appeared off New-London, and 
threatened to land. He immediately ordered Ma- 
jor-general Spencer to hasten to Connecticut, and 
take command of the troops there, to co-operate 



368 SUFFERINGS OF THE ARMY. [1776. 

with General Arnold, whom he also ordered thith- 
er on his way from Ticonderoga. These orders, 
however, were soon countermanded, as Philadelphia 
was in extreme danger of being taken. Washing- 
ton thought the fleet might perhaps soon return to 
New- York, and proceed up Hudson River to assist 
Burgoyne ; and he authorized General Gates and 
Governor Clinton to call on Governor Trumbull 
and the surrounding colonies for any number of 
militia they might find necessary. The British, 
however, landed in Delaware Bay, and forced their 
way towards Philadelphia. In the mean time, the 
Marquis Lafayette had arrived from France, of- 
fered his services in the American army, received 
a commission of major-general, and engaged at 
once in active service under General Washington. 
It was now thought to be of great importance to 
harass the enemy about New-York so much as to 
prevent them from sending more troops to Penn- 
sylvania. General Putnam, therefore, concerted a 
plan with Governor Trumbull for attacking them 
in four points at once ; and a body of Connecticut 
troops were to be furnished to cross to Long Isl- 
and. Just then, however, Washington perempto- 
rily ordered Putnam to send him a detachment, 
which left him too feeble to undertake the enter- 
prise. The enemy took the forts in the Highlands 
after much bloodshed, and they were afterward re- 
covered, for Burgoyne's defeat and capture render- 
ed them of little use to the British. 

After the enemy had got possession of Philadel- 
phia, and Washington had done his utmost to cut 
off their supplies, the cold and extreme want com- 
pelled the American army to take up their winter- 



1776.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 369 

quarters at Valley Forge, on the river Schuylkill. 
General Putnam came down from the Highlands 
to harass the enemy, and spent most of December 
near the Sound. While he was there, an attempt 
was made, and in part successfully, against Long 
Island. Colonel Meigs was to sail from Sawpits 
and land near Huntington : but was prevented by 
bad weather. General Parsons sailed from Nor- 
walk with troops, a part of whom were under Col- 
onel Webb, and designed to land at Hempstead, 
and attack a British regiment near Jamaica. This 
division was driven on shore by an English sloop, 
of war, and all were made prisoners. General 
Parsons went to Newport, while General Clinton 
and Earl Percy took possession of Rhode Island, 
on the 8th of December, with 6000 troops. By the 
greatest skill and activity, Washington prevented 
the enemy from passing the Delaware till late in 
December, although greatly disappointed by the 
want of support from the neighbouring states ; and, 
on the night of the 25th, he crossed to Trenton, 
through floating ice, and took Colonel Rahl's Hes- 
sian regiment by surprise, which greatly alarmed 
the British, and highly encouraged all the friends 
of the country. 

On the 2d of January he was closely pressed by 
an enemy's force in sight of Trenton, unable to re- 
cross the Delaware, and with the prospect of a 
bloody battle in the morning, for which he was ill 
prepared, as well as to endure the season, if success- 
ful. By a masterly movement, which has been 
justly admired, he withdrew his forces silently in 
the night, marching some miles towards New-York, 
as far as Princeton. There he met and beat three 



370 LONG ENLISTMENTS. [1776. 

English regiments, and finally took his troops safe- 
ly to the high grounds in the north of New-Jersey ; 
and took up his winter-quarters at Morristown. 
Re-enforcements were soon sent from New-Eng- 
land ; and Congress now determined to raise a per- 
manent army, by enlisting 88 battalions to serve 
till the close of the war. Washington and many 
other intelligent men had often urged such a meas- 
ure ; and, if it had been adopted early, many dis- 
asters would doubtless have been prevented. It 
had now been fully proved that militia were but lit- 
tle to be relied on, from their want of experience, 
discipline, mutual confidence, and anxiety about 
their homes. 

For the details of the preceding operations, and 
others relating to the war, the reader may refer 
to the History of the United States, as the limits 
and plan of this work preclude us from taking a 
full view of many important occurrences. 



1777.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 371 



CHAPTER XLIII. 1777-1778. 

Danbury burned. — Congress endeavour to restore the Value of 
Continental Money. — They apply to Foreign Powers for aid, 
without success. — General Burgoyne invades New- York from 
Canada. — He is Defeated at Saratoga, and Captured, with his 
Army.— Treaty with France in February, 1778 — Exertions 
made by England to reconcile America. — The French Cabi- 
net betray a selfish Spirit.— Blockade of the British in New- 
port. — The Americans retire. — Massacre at Wyoming. — Final 
Settlement of the disputed Jurisdiction. 

In order to harass and alarm the coast of Con. 
necticut, as well as to destroy the military stores 
deposited at Danbury, General Tryon left New- 
York late in April with a considerable force, and 
landed at Compo Creek. His appearance was too 
sudden to allow time for collecting troops to oppose 
him ; and, as he marched on without delay, he was 
able to accomplish his object. Colonel Huntington 
was on the spot, but with very few men, and re- 
tired to wait for more. On the 26th of April Gen- 
eral Tryon entered Danbury, and burned 800 bar- 
rels of pork and beef, 800 of flour, 200 bushels of 
grain, and 1700 tents. Had he been satisfied with 
this, he would have been justified by the laws of 
war : but, with the vindictive feelings which actu- 
ated the British ministry, and in consistency with 
their threats to the Americans, and their orders to 
their officers, he proceeded to the destruction of pri- 
vate dwellings, which, when unnecessary and un- 
provoked, is considered entirely unauthorized in 



372 DEATH OF GENERAL WOOSTER. [1777. 

war, and worthy only of savages. He set fire to 
18 dwelling houses, and thus distressed many un- 
offending families, whose sufferings could not tend 
to shorten the war, and therefore were unnecessa- 
ry. Such measures produce evil effects, by imbit- 
tering the feelings of hostile parties, and leading to 
recrimination. We shall see how little the British 
ultimately gained by this wanton step. 

General Tryon commenced his retreat immedi- 
ately ; while Generals Wooster, Silliman, and Ar- 
nold were still engaged in collecting troops. It was 
11 o'clock on the 27th before any of them were in 
a condition to attack the enemy ; and then Gen- 
eral Wooster, with only 100 men, fell upon them 
with spirit, although at an advanced age : but he 
unfortunately received a mortal wound ; and his 
soldiers, unable long to stand their ground, were 
forced to retreat. Arnold, with 500 men, awaited 
the enemy at Ridgeway, and engaged them for an 
hour : but he was unable to hold the place, and 
they drove him out, and spent the night there. Ar- 
nold renewed the attack in the morning, and kept 
up constant skirmishes until 5 P.M., when they 
re-embarked and returned to New-York, with the 
loss of 170 men. 

General David Wooster was born at Stratford 
in 1711, graduated at Yale College in 1738, and 
served as a lieutenant and captain in a vessel built 
to guard the Connecticut coast in the Spanish war 
in 1739. In 1745 he took command of a company 
in Colonel Burr's regiment in the expedition against 
Louisburg, whence he was sent to France with 
prisoners. Crossing to England, he was appointed 
a captain in Sir William Pepperell's regiment. In 



1777.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 373 

the war of 1755, he was appointed a colonel and a 
commander of a brigade. In 1774. though a Brit- 
ish officer on half pay, he took a decided part in 
favour of his country against the oppressive meas- 
ures of Britain ; and, immediately after the battle 
of Lexington in 1775, received the command of the 
army which the General Assembly of Connecticut 
ordered to be raised. Congress appointed him a 
brigadier-general in the Continental army the same 
season. His services during the war, and the cir- 
cumstances of his retirement, have been noticed in 
some of the preceding chapters. 

Early in 1777, the bills issued by government 
had depreciated so much that the country was in 
great distress. Congress then made Continental 
money (as they were called) a legal tender. If a 
creditor refused to receive payment in that money 
at its original value, he could not recover his 
debt. Congress also adopted the unwise meas- 
ure of fixing the prices of articles necessary for the 
army, and authorized officers to compel people to 
sell what they had more than was necessary for 
their families, when needed by the troops. They 
even declared those enemies of the country who 
should refuse to receive Continental money at par. 

In retaliation for ravages committed by the ene- 
my, Meigs's expedition was planned and executed. 
Information having been obtained that the English 
had collected a quantity of provisions at Sag Har- 
bour on Long Island, 234 men left New-Haven, 
under Lieutenant-colonel Meigs, on the 21st of 
May, 1777, in thirteen whale-boats, to destroy them. 
They were detained at Guilford by bad weather 
until the 23d ; and at one o'clock, 170 of them 
Ii 



374 GENERAL BURGOYNE AT SARATOGA. [1777. 

steered for the other side of the Sound, under con- 
voy of two armed sloops, reaching Southold at six. 
There were no British troops to oppose them, all 
except a few having marched for New. York, and 
those being at Sag Harbour, fifteen miles distant. 

The boats were carried over land to the bay, 
and 130 men proceeded in them, and landed four 
miles from Sag Harbour. With fixed bayonets, 
they forced their way to the shipping, which they 
burned, though under the fire of a schooner of 
twelve guns and fifty men, at 150 yards distance, 
for three quarters of an hour. They destroyed 
twelve brigs and a sloop, one with twelve guns, one 
hundred and twenty tons of hay, and a quantity of 
other articles, besides killing six of the enemy and 
taking 90 prisoners. 

Colonel Meigs returned to Guilford in twenty- 
four hours, without the loss or injury of a man. 
He received a letter of approbation from Wash- 
ington, and a sword from Congress, for his " pru- 
dence, activity, enterprise, and valour." 

Congress employed commissioners to apply for 
aid in the war to France, Spain, Prussia, and 
Tuscany, but without success, except that a few 
privateers were sent out from France, which took 
a number of English prizes. The British troops 
in America were divided in the campaign of that 
year : for, while a part of them were on the Dela- 
ware and at Philadelphia, General Burgoyne came 
down from Canada by Lake Champlain, and drove 
the Americans from Crown Point and Ticonderoga, 
and succeeded in reaching Saratoga, on the western 
bank of the Hudson, before he met any considerable 
opposing force, 



1777.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 375 

After Crown Point had been evacuated by the 
Americans, it was greatly desired by many that 
Ticonderoga might hold out ; and it probably would 
not have been surrendered if the advice of Colonel 
John Trumbull, of Connecticut, had been followed. 
While the cannoniers were practising with their 
guns one day, he ordered that one should be point- 
ed at the top of Butter Hill, or Mount Defiance, 
which rises far above from the opposite side of the 
outlet of Lake George ; and the ball struck among 
the trees on the summit. This proved the fact, 
which had never been believed, that it was within 
cannon-shot. He then urged that the spot might 
be occupied ; and, if it had been, the English could 
never have planted their guns upon it. 

General Schuyler was blamed for giving up the 
fortresses, and lost the confidence of New. England 
to such a degree that Congress removed him from 
the command, and put General Gates in his place, 
authorizing him and Governor Clinton to demand 
as many troops from the Eastern states as he 
pleased. Washington wrote, on the 14th of Au- 
gust, to the New. York Committee of Vigilance : 
" I have great reliance on those states ; they are 
capable of powerful efforts ;" and his expectations 
were not disappointed. They sent large re-en- 
forcements to the dispirited army; and Gates soon 
marched it from the islands in the Hudson, at the 
mouth of the Mohawk, to which it had retreated, 
up to Stillwater, where he took a position on Beh- 
mis's Heights. 

The condition and prospects of the country were 
at that crisis most sad and foreboding. A strong 
party of Hessians, with some British troops and 



376 BURGOYNE SURRENDERS. [1777. 

royalists, were valiantly met, defeated, and cap- 
tured, in an attempt to seize the great dep6t of 
military stores at Bennington, now in Vermont, by 
some militia hastily collected from the adjacent 
country, under General Stark and Colonel Warner. 
This was the first step towards the favourable 
change which soon took place, and had a power- 
ful effect upon the country. 

Governor Clinton, hoping to make sure of the 
important pass of the Highlands, resumed the 
command of Fort Montgomery ; and the strictest 
caution was observed to prevent any communica- 
tion between the enemy at New-York and General 
Burgoyne. A man named Edward Palmer was 
arrested in attempting to pass through the Ameri- 
can army under very suspicious circumstances. 
The British demanded him of General Putnam, 
who wrote this laconic note in return on the 7th 
of August : " Edward Palmer has been taken as a 
spy, condemned as a spy, and will be executed as 
a spy. P.S. — He has been executed accordingly." 
About the middle of the month Washington ordered 
Putnam to send to General Gates Morgan's rifle 
corps, which consisted of 500 men, to relieve the 
apprehensions felt by the militia of meeting Bur- 
goyne's Indians, by fighting them, as he remarked, 
"in their own way." They went up the Hudson 
in sloops from Peekskill. Colonel Courtlandt's and 
Colonel Livingston's regiments were also despatch- 
ed to re-enforce the northern army. 

Burgoyne soon after surrendered to General 
Gates; and, from that moment, the Americans 
were excited with new hope and new resolution, 
whiie the event caused a strong impression abroad, 



1778.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 377 

The King of France, in December, openly espoused 
the cause of our country, by acknowledging its in- 
dependence; and, on the 6th of February, 1778, a 
commercial treaty and one of alliance were formed 
between the two countries. This was a blessing 
of great value, and was so regarded by many, with 
gratitude to God, although there was room to sus- 
pect that the French king had not been influenced 
in the measure by mere kindness to the Americans, 
or a regard for justice. A letter of his own, since 
published, expressly avows that his object was to 
weaken England by preventing her reunion with 
her colonies. In the treaty, Congress agreed to 
give to France any of the West India Islands 
which the Americans might conquer in the war. 

But to return to our hasty view of the progress 
of the war. Connecticut, in common with the 
other colonies, at the opening of the year 1778, 
had another season of painful struggle in prospect, 
as this treaty had not yet been made. Parliament, 
in spite of the results of the previous campaign, re- 
solved to make a new exertion to overcome the 
Americans; and, after making great preparations, 
received large sums of money from men of wealth, 
while some of the cities raised a regiment of sol- 
diers each to increase the army. At the same 
time, the ministry were engaged in forming another 
plan of reconciliation. This proved to be more 
liberal than any preceding one, and, indeed, yielded 
almost every point which had caused difficulty : 
but it was not soon enough adopted by Parliament 
even to be fairly tried. Ten days before it re- 
ceived their approbation, the treaty between the 
colonies and France was concluded ; and then, of 
I i 2 



378 THREATS OF ENGLAND. [1778. 

course, if not before, independence was considered 
as finally settled. The King of France sent in- 
formation of the treaty to the King of England, 
through the ministers, intimating that he was 
ready to aid the Americans if the war should con- 
tinue. 

The British government showed an urgent desire 
to become reconciled with the Americans when 
they began to see France inclined to join them ; 
and the plan of reconciliation was sent in haste 
across the Atlantic before it had been adopted. 
Washington laid it before Congress, by whom it 
was published, with an address to the people, 
warning them against confiding in fair promises 
made at a time when the colonies had a powerful 
friend ready to assist them, and which would prob- 
ably be broken as soon as circumstances should 
appear more favourable to England. 

Commissioners were appointed, who came and 
offered even, in fact, to acknowledge the independ- 
ence of the colonies : but Congress refused to open 
any conference until the British forces should be 
withdrawn ; and France was spoken of in the doc- 
ument in terms of reproach, which, as an ally, the 
country ought not to permit. Several attempts 
were made, in a most cautious and secret manner, 
by strangers in Paris, to influence Dr. Franklin 
to yield some advantage in favour of England : 
but he was too sagacious as well as too patriotic to 
be taken off his guard. The war, therefore, was 
to go on ; and, while England sent out a powerful 
land and naval force, the commissioners gave no- 
tice that she considered the country as " mortgaged 
to France," and was resolved, for self-preserva- 






177S.J HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT 379 

tion, to render America of as little use as possible 
to her enemy. This intimated that the govern- 
ment intended to give the war a desolating charac- 
ter, and, of course, excited dreadful anticipations of 
the campaign. The commissioners offered pardon 
to all who should desert in forty days ; and this 
led Congress to propose that British agents should 
be seized who made such proposals. 

The commissioners returned to England : but 
first, having received information that a French 
fleet was coming to blockade the English in the 
Chesapeake, they gave the commander notice, who 
therefore evacuated Philadelphia on the 18th of 
June, and marched to New-York. On his way 
he was attacked by the Americans at Monmouth, 
New. Jersey, and both sides claimed the advan- 
tage, after a severe engagement. The French 
fleet, consisting of 12 ships of the line and 8 frig- 
ates, arrived on the coast on the 6th of July, bring- 
ing out Monsieur Gerard, the first minister ever 
appointed to the United States. Dr. Franklin was 
appointed minister to France on the 14th of Sep- 
tember, 1778, and went, at the age of 71. 

And now the French government intimated a 
strong wish to recover Canada ; and it was pro- 
posed by Gerard that several bodies of troops 
should cross the frontiers, capture the country, and 
form two new states for the Union. It was inti- 
mated that France might hold it as security for 
money advanced. Congress considered the plan 
favourably : but Washington decidedly, though with 
respect and moderation, opposed it ; and it was 
finally abandoned, on the ground that the country 
was not able to ensure the performance of the part 
expected of her. 



380 CONDITION OF WYOMING. [1778. 

The French, under the Count de Grasse, pro- 
ceeded to Newport, Rhode Island, and blockaded 
the harbour and coast ; while General Sullivan, 
having called upon the militia of that state and the 
neighbouring ones, marched down upon the island, 
and pressed the enemy closely on the land side. 
But, a severe storm having caused the fleet some 
damage, the count insisted on going to Boston, 
while the Americans were compelled to retreat, 
and were pursued for some time by the enemy. 

Reports of the cruel treatment received by pris- 
oners in the hands of the enemy had often dis- 
tressed their friends ; and, although Washington 
had remonstrated, and threatened retaliation, fears 
were still entertained that there was yet much suf- 
fering in the British prisons. This apprehension 
was too strongly confirmed by Robert Sheffield, of 
Stonington, who effected his escape from a prison- 
ship at New- York. He made known the painful 
facts, that 350 men were confined between decks, in 
extreme want of air, room, and all the comforts of 
life, and in a state of misery and disease. He 
added, that three other ships in Wallabout Cove 
(where the Navy Yard now is) were likewise 
crowded with American and French prisoners. 

This year a dreadful blow fell on the devoted 
settlements of Wyoming. At the commencement 
of the war in 1775, the feelings of former rancour 
were added to those which excited the whole coun- 
try. A considerable number of the people and 
claimants took part with the enemy ; and, ere long, 
the savages were brought into the contest which 
ensued. 

The inhabitants were then about 5000, including 



1778.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 381 

those of both the companies, and had eight town- 
ships, each five miles square, viz., Lackawana, 
Exeter, Kingston, Wilkesbarre, Plymouth, Nanti- 
coke, Huntington, and Salem. The two upper 
townships were but thinly populated. Congress, 
being informed that much blood was likely to be 
shed, endeavoured to prevent it : but 700 Pennsyl- 
vanians were soon on the march, under Colonel 
Plunkett, to drive their rivals from the valley. 
They were ambushed on the western bank of the 
river, in a strong and wild position, and again met 
on the eastern side with such vigour that they re- 
treated ; and this was the last attempt made by 
Pennsylvania to settle the question by force of 
arms. How lamentable was it that William Penn's 
example was not imitated from the beginning ! 

A number of the loyalists of Wyoming soon 
dropped off and joined the bands of John Johnson 
and Colonel John Butler, and took part in the 
bloody scenes which they enacted among the 
frontier villages of New- York and Pennsylvania. 
Eleven hundred men, however, were formed into a 
regiment of militia, and three hundred of them soon 
enlisted for the Continental army, and formed three 
companies. The fruitfulness of the soil enabled 
the people even during the war to raise large sup- 
plies of provisions ; and, in the spring of 1778, 
3000 bushels of grain were furnished to the army. 

There were little forts at different points, which 
were guarded : but, even in 1777, during the oper- 
ations against Fort Stanwix, no attack was made. 
In the following January twenty-seven persons were 
arrested on suspicion of corresponding with the en- 
emy, and nine of them were retained in custody, 



382 THE MASSACRE AT WYOMING. [1778. 

and sent to Hartford, Connecticut, where they were 
confined : but most of this whole number found 
their way into the British ranks after their release. 
Some distant Indian tribes sent friendly messages 
to the people : but it was found that they wished 
to lull them into security, and then destroy them. 

The upper settlements were abandoned ; and in 
the spring, several robberies were committed by 
small parties of Indians and Tories, while in June 
the murder of defenceless families was commenced, 
and among those who fell were a mother and her 
six children. About the same time Colonel John 
Butler set out from Canada, with 300 English and 
Tories, and 500 Indians; and from Tioga Point 
floated down the Susquehanna on rafts to the Three 
Islands. There landing, they marched through 
the woods twenty miles, and entered the valley of 
Wyoming from the north, by a gap in the mount- 
ains. Exeter Fort was given up to them by the 
Tory garrison, and Fort Lackawana was taken by 
force. The inhabitants fled to the other forts ; and 
Colonel Zabulon Butler, with 400 militia, marched 
against the enemy, with the 300 Continentals under 
Captain Hewett. They met them, in front of Fort 
Wintermoot, on the 3d of July, and soon found the 
Indians giving way before the militia. But, while 
the latter were advancing, they heard the whoop 
of a party of savages in their rear, and soon took 
to flight, pursued and slaughtered with tomahawks. 
Of the whole number only about sixty escaped, by 
running to the mountains or swimming across the 
river. 

Most of the numerous families below, on hearing 
of this sad defeat, fled into the forest, while a 



1778.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 383 

smaller number sought refuge in Fort Wyoming, 
They were, however, soon compelled to surrender, 
which they did with an agreement to restore the 
estates of the Tories, and allow them to remain in 
peace, while the fort should be destroyed, but they 
should be protected from the Indians. But the 
poor people were attacked and butchered with the 
most shocking cruelty when the enemy had them 
in their power ; and the Royalists were even more 
barbarous and unrelenting than the savages. Not 
only did those who had been neighbours lift the 
sword against each other, but kindred, and even 
brothers, are said to have lost all feeling, except 
the most rancorous hatred, on that bloody day. 

Colonel Zabulon Butler and some of the other 
survivors met a body of Continental troops on their 
way to help them ; and, after remaining at Strouds- 
burgh three or four weeks, they returned to Wyo- 
ming, and found the enemy had retired. A new 
fort was built ; and an incursion was made into 
the Indian country when Colonel Hartley's regi- 
ment had reached the valley. 

General Sullivan received the command the next 
year, when frequent predatory attempts were made 
by the savages, and all such as fell into the hands 
of the Americans were put to death. Only one 
more serious attempt was made against Wyoming 
during the war, and then 250 Tories and Indians 
fled at the first shot. 

The prospects of security led many settlers to 
that charming valley. Congress appointed a com- 
mission, who met in New-Jersey, and decided that 
the disputed country belonged to Pennsylvania ; and 
the settlers submitted, claiming, however, that the 



384 LAST SURVIVOR OF THE MASSACRE. [1778, 

decision determined only the jurisdiction. But old 
enmities soon began to disturb the public peace ; 
and a company of Continental troops, who were 
sent to protect it, increased the irritation. During 
the subsequent years dissension continued. The 
Pennsylvanian fort was besieged : but a re-en- 
forcement arrived, some blood was shed, and all 
attempts at negotiation failed. Colonel Timothy 
Pickering was sent to effect a reconciliation, but 
he was kept for some time as a prisoner. At 
length, in 1786, the final settlement of the whole 
question was made, by giving the disputed territory 
to Pennsylvania, and to Connecticut a tract of val- 
uable land in Ohio, which was called New-Connec- 
ticut, and now, more commonly, the Connecticut 
Reserve. 

The last survivor of those who escaped the mas- 
sacre of Wyoming was Mrs. Esther Skinner, who 
died at Torringford, Connecticut, in 1831, in the 
hundredth year of her age. She lost two sons in 
the battle, escaping with six other children in a 
very surprising manner. Her son-in-law was the 
only man who escaped death out of twenty men 
who betook themselves to the river when pursued, 
and hung by the branches of trees until the Indians 
found and tomahawked them one by one. Through 
many hardships she travelled back to Connecticut 
where she spent the remainder of her life. 



1779.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 385 



CHAPTER XLIV. 1779-1781. 

War in Georgia. — Norfolk taken. — Sullivan's Expedition. — Mu« 
tiny at Reading, Connecticut. — British attempt to reach Stanv 
ford. — New-Haven taken by General Tryon. — Fairfield and 
Norwalk burned.— Stony Point taken. — Arnold's Treachery, 
— Execution of Andre. — Sufferings of the Army in Pennsylva* 
nia.— Preparations to Besiege New-York in 1780 — The Seat 
of War changed to Virginia.— Capture of New-London.— 
Massacre at Groton Fort. — English Depredations. — A Con- 
gregation captured on the Sabbath. — Severe Treatment of 
Prisoners.— Siege and Capture of Yorktown. — Negotiations 
for Peace. — Close of the War. — The Army at Newburg in- 
cited to Revolt.— Washington persuades them to be Dis- 
missed in Peace. — He resigns his Commission. 

Late in the year 1778, Lieutenant-colonel Camp- 
bell sailed from New- York with 2500 men, landed in 
Georgia, and took Savannah with little opposition. 
The American troops retreated to South Carolina : 
but General Sullivan soon besieged Savannah, aid- 
ed by a French fleet under Count D'Estaing, with 
6000 men. Count Pulaski and about 1000 men 
having lost their lives in an assault, the fleet sailed 
for France, and the troops retired, while Norfolk, 
in Virginia, was plundered by the British. Fort 
St. Vincent, on the Wabash, was captured by Col- 
onel Clarke, which secured a large extent of the 
western frontier: but General Sullivan was de- 
spatched with 4000 men against the Indians in 
the western part of New- York, whom he defeated 
at Seneca Lake, destroying their town and driving 
them away. 

In 1779, Congress being exceedingly pressed for 
Kk 



386 MUTINY AT READING. [1779. 

means to furnish the army with the necessaries of 
life, called on the states to raise 15 millions, with 
the intention of asking six millions annually for 16 
years. The call, however, was ineffectual. Re- 
sort was then had to the old expedient, and bills 
of credit were issued in great numbers, until the 
whole amount was 160 millions. Congress then de- 
clared that the issues should not in any case swell 
the amount over two millions : but necessity com- 
pelled them afterward to increase to three millions. 

During the winter, General Putnam was sta- 
tioned at Reading, with a force prepared to co- 
operate with the troops at West Point in case of 
need. He had two Connecticut brigades, General 
Poor's New-Hampshire brigade, Colonel Hazen's 
corps of infantry, and Sheldon's cavalry. In con- 
sequence of the severe sufferings which they had 
to endure from the want of necessaries, the Con- 
necticut troops had agreed to mutiny, march to 
Hartford, and demand relief of the General Assem- 
bly, who were then in session. The second bri- 
gade had actually paraded under arms preparatory 
to their march, before General Putnam was ap- 
prized of their design. He immediately mounted 
his horse and galloped to the spot. The sergeants, 
who then had the command, made the soldiers 
present arms and the musicians beat their drums, 
while he rode along the line, and thus addressed 
them : 

" My brave lads, whither are you going 1 Do 
you intend to desert your officers, and to invite the 
enemy to follow you into the country? Whose 
cause have you been fighting and suffering so long 
in : is it not your own ? Have you no property, 



1779.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 387 

no parents, wives, or children? You have be- 
haved like men so far : all the world is full of 
your praises ; and posterity will stand astonished 
at your deeds — but not if you spoil all at last. 
Don't you consider how much the country is dis- 
tressed by the war, and that your officers have not 
been better paid than yourselves ? But we all ex- 
pect better times, and that the country will do us 
ample justice. Let us stand by one another, then, 
and fight it out like brave soldiers. Think what a 
shame it would be for Connecticut men to run 
away from their officers." 

The troops listened to the general in order and 
silence ; and when, at his command, the brigade- 
major gave the word, they shouldered their arms, 
marched to their respective parades, and cheer- 
fully lodged their muskets, won back to their duty 
by their brave, patriotic, and popular general. 
Only one man proved refractory, and he was put 
under guard ; and, in attempting to escape at night, 
was shot dead by a sentry. 

While the army was at Reading, Mr. Jones, a 
Royalist belonging to Ridgefield, was hung as a 
spy, and a youth was shot for desertion. 

On the 25th of February, six regiments were 
sent by General Tryon to surprise the American 
troops at Horseneck, and destroy the salt-works. 
They were discovered at New.Rochelle by a cap- 
tain and 30 men, who fired upon them, but re- 
treated, taking up Byram bridge. On reaching 
Horseneck, they found General Putnam waiting 
for them, with some old iron cannon and about 60 
soldiers, with which he received them in a spirited 
manner. Finding, however, that they were en« 



388 CAPTURE OF GENERAL SItLLIMAN. [1779. 

deavouring to outflank him, to get into the deep 
ravine behind his position, he ordered a retreat to 
a hill beyond, while he set off for Stamford for 
more troops. He delayed so long that several of 
the enemy's dragoons were almost upon him when 
he reached the brow of the hill. Having his cel- 
ebrated well-trained horse, and being a man of ex- 
traordinary boldness, he drove down a steep and 
broken descent at a rapid pace, where his pursuers 
were afraid to follow ; and, while they took a more 
circuitous route, he reached the valley before them, 
and, hastening on, eluded their pursuit. The ene- 
my destroyed one of the salt-works, and returned 
with the loss of 38 prisoners and two wagons, hav- 
ing killed about 20 of the Americans. 

Connecticut this year appointed Major-general 
Silliman superintendent of the coast of Fairfield ; 
and in May, a party of nine refugees crossed from 
Lloyd's Neck on Long Island, and, proceeding cau- 
tiously to his house, roused him and family at mid- 
night by an attempt to force the door. He at- 
tempted to fire upon them : but his musket missed ; 
and they soon broke through a window, made him 
prisoner, and hurried to their boat with his eldest 
son. They were confined at New- York, and af- 
terward at Flatbush. This was a serious public 
loss, because he could not be restored to liberty un- 
til exchanged for an officer of the enemy of equal 
rank. Such a one was not then a prisoner with 
the Americans. Captain Hawley, of Bridgeport 
(then called Newfield), having intelligence that the 
Hon. Thomas Jones, a justice of the Supreme 
court of New-York, resided in an exposed situation 
at Smithtown, on Long Island, he proceeded, with 



1779.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 389 

about 25 men, across the Sound, and arrived at his 
dwelling in the evening unobserved, the music of a 
ball preventing their approach from being heard. 
Opening the door, they met Judge Jones in the en- 
try, and brought him off, with a Mr. Hewlet. They 
were two days in returning to their boat ; and, on 
reaching Connecticut, the judge was courteously 
entertained by Mrs. Silliman, and soon sent to Mid- 
dletown for safety. 

On the 5th of July, 1779, 48 of the enemy's 
vessels appeared off New-Haven, commanded by 
Sir George Collier. They consisted of the Camil- 
la and Scorpion men-of-war, and a number of trans- 
ports and tenders, with 3000 troops under Major- 
general Tryon. About 1500 landed at West Ha- 
ven Point at sunrise. Twenty-five of the inhabi- 
tants attacked and drove back two companies who 
nad advanced to Milford Hill : but General Garth, 
with the rest, afterward found no obstacle till they 
reached West River, where the bridge had been 
destroyed, and a few guns planted behind a breast- 
work. They then turned off to the left, and march- 
ed round nine miles by the Derby road, galled by 
a party of about 150 Americans. Adjutant Camp- 
bell fell on Milford Hill, where his grave is still to 
be seen. 

Another body of the British, in the mean time, 
had landed at the South End, and, marching up, 
attacked the fort, where they met such opposition 
as nineteen men could make. Their vessels also 
came and fired on the fort, which was not aban- 
doned by its feeble garrison while there was any 
hope of success. The town was soon in possession 
of the enemy, who, in spite of a proclamation pub- 



390 BURNING OF FAIRFIELD. [1779. 

lished by the commanders, burned the stores on the 
wharf and eight houses, shamefully pillaged others 
of all the valuable articles they were able to remove, 
and destroyed or injured much furniture, besides 
murdering several persons in cold blood, and com- 
mitting other acts of barbarity. Captain Gilbert, 
of Hampden, was wounded, and offered to surren- 
der : but Captain Parker ordered him to be shot. 
He immediately shot Captain Parker, and then fell. 
Mr. Beers was shot, and mortally wounded, by a 
soldier in the ranks, at his own door ; the Rev. Dr. 
Daggett, president of Yale College, was stabbed, 
beaten, and insulted while a prisoner, having been 
taken in arms near West Bridge ; Mr. English, a 
helpless old man, was put to death in his house ; 
and an insane man was beaten, had his tongue cut 
out, and was finally killed. 

The enemy were guided by William Chandler, 
whose family joined them, and returned with them. 
He interceded for President Daggett, having been 
his pupil, and probably saved his life. That patri- 
otic man, having been asked whether he would 
ever take up arms again if released, replied, " I 
rather believe I shall, if I have an opportunity." 

The enemy hastily embarked the next morning 
and returned to New-York. 

About the same time, the fort at Stony Point, 
at the entrance of the Highlands of the Hudson, 
was taken by storm by General Wayne : yet no re- 
taliation was made by the humane captors for the 
atrocities committed by the enemy. 

The enemy's squadron appeared at Kensie's 
Point, off Fairfield, on the 7th of July, where they 
landed the following morning. A small number of 



1779.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 391 

militia assembled and opposed them as well as they 
were able, killing, wounding, and capturing a few, 
and checking them a while with a fieldpiece at the 
courthouse, but were unable to prevent them from 
marching into the town. It was soon in their 
possession, and they paraded on the green be- 
tween the courthouse and meeting-house. Most 
of the inhabitants had fled on the first alarm : a 
few only remained, with the hope of prevailing on 
the commanders to spare their dwellings and barns, 
which were filled with a plentiful harvest. 

Mrs. Burr, the wife of the sheriff, a lady of most 
exalted character and dignified manners, made such 
a request of General Tryon : to which he returned 
only a brutal answer. Detachments were sent in 
all directions, first the Hessians, who plundered 
what they pleased. Some refugees, who were 
exasperated by the confiscation of their property, 
here, as in many other cases in the war, were very 
active in the work of destruction. Some of the 
British officers expressed commiseration for the 
people : but General Tryon, although constantly 
petitioned by females for the protection of their 
dwellings, was deaf to mercy, and the Hessians 
were very profane and abusive. General Garth 
was more humane. Mr. Jennings's house was 
burned soon after sunset, several others in the 
night; and the next morning the whole town was 
destroyed, with the exception of a few houses from 
Colonel Gold's to Mill River. Some of these had 
finally been promised protection, as that of Mr. Burr 
and the meeting-house : but they were burned by 
some of the rear-guard or stragglers. Eighty-five 
dwellings in all were destroyed, two churches, the 



392 ARNOLD'S TREACHERY. [1780. 

courthouse, fifty-five barns, fifteen stores, fifteen 
shops, 500 barrels of rice, and other property to a 
large amount. 

In the mean time, a body of militia held the 
neighbouring hills, and kept up skirmishes with 
the enemy's outposts. A row-galley fired on the 
fort all night : but it was defended with much gal- 
lantry by Lieutenant Jarvis, with only twenty-three 
men. About eight in the morning the enemy march- 
ed, and were galled by the militia on their retreat. 
About 3 P.M. they set sail for Long Island, with 
a few prisoners. 

After the destruction of Fairfield by the British, 
they returned from Huntington Bay, in Long Island, 
on the 11th of July, and landed on the east side of 
the river, near Norwalk, between eight and nine 
o'clock in the evening. Many of the inhabitants 
fled to Belden's Hill, about five miles distant, and 
in the morning occupied Grummons's Hill. Cap- 
tain Stephen Betts, at the head of fifty Continental 
troops and a few militia, attempted to check them 
in their approach, but was at length obliged to re- 
treat, after losing four men. About sunrise the 
conflagration of buildings began, and all the stores 
and dwellings except six were destroyed, together 
with the two churches and the salt-works. The 
enemy evacuated the place at noon, taking the 
whale-boats with them. General Tryon acknowl- 
edged the loss of twenty killed, ninety-six wounded, 
and thirty-two missing. 

The story of Arnold's treachery is well known 
to every reader of the history of the Revolution. 
In consequence of his extravagance in spending 
money while he was in Philadelphia, he had sufc 



1780.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 393 

fered censure ; and this had so irritated his un- 
principled and violent feelings, that he gave up all 
his attachment for his country. After labouring 
and risking his life in defence in so many engage- 
ments with the enemy, he determined to sell to 
them, for a sum of money, the important fortresses 
of the Highlands, of which he held the command. 
By a private means he made known his feelings to 
the British commander in New-York, who imme- 
diately sent Major Andre up the Hudson, in the 
sloop- of-war Vulture, to make the bargain. He 
landed unobserved in the night, and had a secret 
interview with Arnold in a solitary spot on the 
shore. He was taken on his way back to New- 
York by land, in the neutral ground, by three men 
whom he mistook for loyalists ; and, being suspect- 
ed, and unable to bribe them, he was made prison- 
er. He sent word to Arnold that Anderson was 
captured. That name he had assumed, and was 
known only to Arnold, who immediately took 
alarm for himself, and fled to the Vulture, in 
which he was carried to New- York. He landed 
at Old Slip ; and, meeting a party of British in 
Hanover Square, he was introduced to them, but 
they immediately turned their backs upon him : 
so natural is it to regard such treachery with ab- 
horrence. He received £10,000 sterling, and a 
commission of brigadier-general in the British 
army ; and, impelled by desperation, engaged in 
war against his countrymen with the barbarity of 
a savage. 

Arnold's estate was confiscated ; and the Court of 
Probate of New-Haven appointed Isaac Jones and 
Michael Todd commissioners to examine claims 



394 MORE TROOPS RAISED. [1780. 

against it, and Pierpont Edwards to receive pay- 
ments due. 

In the mean time, Major Andre was tried and 
condemned as a spy ; and, although great exertions 
were made to persuade Washington to pardon him, 
he was hung at Tarrytown, lamented even by those 
who thought the sentence just : for he was a young 
man of amiable character, and had friends and re- 
lations in England who were tenderly attached to 
him. 

The winter of 1780 was one of great suffering 
to our troops. Those of the Pennsylvania line 
were reduced to such distress by starvation at 
Morristown, as well as those of New-Jersey, that 
they refused to obey their officers, chose new ones, 
and determined to go to Philadelphia, to demand 
relief of Congress. Three months' pay was raised 
for them, though with great difficulty, and they re- 
turned to order. Two men, who had been sent by 
Sir Henry Clinton to draw them over to the Eng- 
lish party, were taken prisoners by them, given up 
to the government, and executed as spies. 

The states were this year required to bring in 
the old bills of credit at the rate of forty for one. 
They were cancelled, and new ones issued, not ex- 
ceeding one twentieth of their amount. These 
were to be redeemed in six years at five per cent., 
and rested on the credit of the particular states, 
guarantied by the United States. The bills, how- 
ever, were not brought in, and the sufferings of the 
army continued. At length, the old bills became 
so entirely discredited that they lost all value, and 
remained worthless in the hands of their holders. 

In the following spring 6000 troops were order- 



1781.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 395 

ed from the northern states to besiege New- York, 
and the few who came, being joined by the French 
army, took position about the city. On account 
of want of strength, however, and a re-enforcement 
of 3000 Germans which arrived at New-York, they 
were obliged to abandon the enterprise, and little 
was done in that part of the country the whole sea- 
son. Virginia, however, and, still more, the Caro- 
linas, suffered from a bloody civil war ; for there 
the loyalists, or Tories, as they were called, were 
numerous, and the people of the same districts, 
towns, neighbourhoods, and families were often 
armed and exasperated against each other, and de- 
vastated the country by their violence and blood- 
shed, instigated and assisted by the British troops 
under Lord Rawdon, Stewart, Tarleton, Cornwal- 
lis, and the traitor Arnold. The patriotic Ameri- 
cans, under Lafayette, Greene, Lee, Marion, Sum- 
ter, and others, having opposed their enemies with 
various success, were at length gratified by the re- 
treat of Cornwallis, with his ten thousand troops, to 
the mouth of York River, where they began to for- 
tify themselves. Sir Henry Clinton had intercept- 
ed a letter from Washington to Congress, from 
which he learned that New- York was to be attack- 
ed with a powerful force, and ordered Cornwallis 
to take position somewhere on the coast, to be 
ready to come to his assistance in the fleet. Wash- 
ington, in the mean time, having learned that a 
French fleet, with 3000 troops, was coming to the 
Chesapeake, he determined to direct his principal 
attempts against the enemy in the south. The 
troops about New- York were therefore ordered to 
march : but manoeuvred in such a way that the 



396 CAPTURE OF NEW -LONDON. [1781. 

English thought they were going to take Staten 
Island, and did not discover that they had marched 
for Philadelphia until it was too late to follow them. 
Sir Henry Clinton then determined to distress some 
parts of the country within his reach, and sent Ar- 
nold against New-London with 24 ships. What a 
sad comment on his character is his acceptance of 
such an office, and how much more detestable did 
he appear in the wanton barbarity which he dis- 
played in its execution ! 

From the eastern side of New-London harbour, 
in Groton, rises a high and steep hill, crowned by 
Fort Griswold, in the place of which was then a 
small work, of little strength, but commanding the 
fort and town of New-London, which lay in full 
view below. The alarm caused by the approach 
of the British ships from Long Island brought to- 
gether many volunteers from the neighbouring 
towns, in arms for resistance. Fort Trumbull be- 
ing untenable, on the enemy's approach, those who 
had entered it crossed the harbour to Groton. 
About four miles up the river Thames is a little 
solitary burying-ground, near the margin of the 
water. It contains the ashes of a number of the 
brave men who formed the garrison of Groton fort 
on that melancholy occasion, under Colonel Led- 
yard. 

Arnold, on reaching the mouth of the harbour on 
the 9th of September, landed 800 men, in three 
parties, in Groton, under Colonel Eyre, to attack 
the fort on three sides at once, while he proceeded 
against the town with the remaining troops. On 
the land side the fort was almost unfit for re- 
sistance. The garrison, amounting to 180 men, 



1781.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 397 

behaved with the greatest bravery, but were over- 
powered by superior numbers, after the loss of 
Colonel Eyre and the officer next him in rank. 
When the garrison had ceased to resist, the Brit- 
ish officer at the head of the invaders inquired, 
" Who commands this fort ! M " I did," replied 
Colonel Ledyard, " but you do now ;" at the same 
time presenting him his sword. Instead of treat- 
ing him with humanity, he seized the weapon, 
plunged it into his bosom, and killed him. The 
soldiers, following this savage example, fell on the 
surviving prisoners, and slaughtered sixty or sev- 
enty of them. Not content with this, they placed 
the wounded men in a heap upon a cart, and rolled 
it down the steep hill on which the fort was built. 
It moved down with great force until it struck a 
tree, which stopped its career with a violent shock. 
Thus several of them were killed, and others se- 
verely bruised. 

The conquerors then spread a train of gunpowder 
from the gate of the fort to the magazine, and re- 
tired, after touching it with fire. The train, how- 
ever, was by some means interrupted ; and this is 
reported to have been effected by a wounded sol- 
dier, who lay unobserved in the barracks, and, 
creeping out as fast as his exhausted strength 
would permit, lay across the train and soaked it 
with his blood. 

In the mean time, Arnold, having landed on the 
western side of the harbour about nine o'clock, with 
800 men, proceeded from Brown's farm, near the 
present lighthouse, opposed by a few Americans, 
and soon had possession of New-London. The 
stores on the beach were set on fire, and the houses 
L L 



398 A CONGREGATION CAPTURED. [1781. 

on Mill Cove: but, being fired upon by parties of 
our men, they at length began to retire, setting fire 
as they retreated to the buildings in their way. At 
four P.M. they began a precipitate retreat, and re- 
turned to their ships with the loss of five killed and 
about twenty wounded. A Hessian officer was 
made prisoner. The Americans lost four killed 
and ten or twelve wounded. 

Many of the inhabitants of New. London had 
fortunately been able to escape up the river in 
vessels before the enemy's arrival, with much of 
their valuable moveables : but the destruction of 
property was great. The fire of the buildings on 
the shore was communicated to the vessels at the 
wharves, and numbers of them were burned. A 
committee of the Legislature, in 1793, stated the 
losses of the town at $485,980. It appeared that 
65 dwelling-houses were burned, which had con- 
tained 97 families, besides 31 stores, 18 shops, 20 
barns, and 9 public and other buildings, comprising 
the courthouse, church, and jail. 

After the peace, 500 acres of land in the Con- 
necticut Reserve, in Ohio, were granted to New. 
London in consideration of these losses. 

In June of the same year, about 150 men landed 
at Leet's Island, in Guilford, from two armed brigs 
and a schooner. They burned the house and two 
barns of Mr. Leet, but were attacked and driven 
off, leaving six or seven muskets, and having 
wounded five men, two of them mortally. 

On the 22d of July, during public worship (it be- 
ing the Sabbath), a party of enemies, chiefly refu- 
gees, surrounded the meeting-house in Middlesex, 
now Darien, and took the men prisoners, with the 



1782.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 399 

pastor, Dr. Mather. They tied them together in 
couples, and, marching them to the shore, con- 
veyed them to Lloyd's Neck in boats. Thence 
they were soon marched to New-York, where 
they were imprisoned. Some never returned, and 
others suffered from the smallpox. Dr. Mather 
was confined in the Provost prison (now the Hall 
of Record in New- York), under the charge of the 
notorious jailor Cunningham, who persecuted him 
with his characteristic brutality, and often told him 
he was to be executed. 

On the 3d of January, 130 men, who had been 
prisoners in New-York, were landed at New-Lon- 
don in a deplorable condition ; and these, like many 
others who arrived at different times, were dis- 
eased, filthy, and covered with vermin. Numbers 
of persons died of the infectious disease which they 
communicated in the houses where they were re- 
ceived. 

But to return to the operations of the armies: 

Washington was soon throwing up trenches be- 
fore the enemy's position at Yorktown in Virginia, 
while the Count de Grasse blockaded them with a 
French fleet in the Chesapeake. Early in Octo- 
ber, the place was stormed by the Americans under 
Colonel Hamilton, and the French troops under 
Lafayette ; and, after an unsuccessful attempt to 
cross the river, Cornwallis surrendered himself and 
his army. The English nation and Parliament, 
after this great American victory, determined to 
put an end to the war, although the king was 
disposed to persevere ; and, in the spring of 1782, 
proposals were made for peace. 

In the United States the news of the victoiy 



400 THE NEWBURGH LETTERS. [1782. 

caused great rejoicings ; and public thanksgiving 
was rendered to the God of armies, who had dis- 
posed events so mercifully for the country. The 
proposition for a treaty of peace was received with 
general satisfaction ; and Congress appointed John 
Adams, Benjamin Franklin, John Jay, and Henry 
Laurens commissioners to treat on the subject, 
while Mr. Oswald was appointed by the king of 
Great Britain. Conferences were held in Paris, 
and preliminaries were agreed on in November, 
but were not signed that year, on the ground that it 
was proper to wait until Great Britain should be 
at peace with France, the ally of the United States. 

Congress determined to dismiss on furlough the 
troops enlisted for the whole war, not thinking it 
prudent to disband the army until a definitive treaty 
should be formed. They offered to allow the 
troops full pay for five years, instead of half pay 
for life, which had been promised them ; and this 
full pay was to be given to them either in money 
or in securities at interest, at the choice of the re- 
spective state lines. 

At this period, however, a dark and portentous 
cloud overhung the country. The people of the 
United States, perhaps, have never passed a more 
dangerous crisis. Some officer addressed to the 
army (which was concentrated at Nevvburgh, on the 
Hudson River) some incendiary letters, inveigh- 
ing against the government for breaking its prom- 
ises, and exhorting the soldiers not to lay down 
their arms until they should obtain some more sub- 
stantial return for their long and arduous services. 
The danger of revolt and a military despotism was 
imminent, and this would doubtless have been the 



1781.] HISTORY OP CONNECTICUT. 401 

consequence with an army in such circumstances 
in almost any other country, where soldiers are 
less intelligent, virtuous, and patriotic, especially 
as the author of the letters was probably an officer 
of pretty high rank, viz., Colonel Wilkinson. But 
America had a general such as Europe never yet 
has been blessed with ; and Washington, who was 
happily on the spot, exerted all his influence, and 
displayed all his exalted character, in arguing and 
remonstrating with the troops as fellow-citizens, 
fellow. labourers, and fellow-sufferers, urging the 
noble considerations with a sincerity and eloquence 
worthy of himself. Such influence had he with the 
army, that he prevented the display of any insubor- 
dination ; and the soldiers quietly departed on 
their various routes for their homes, many of them 
taking the roads to Connecticut. It was not, how- 
ever, until the latter part of June that the army 
was entirely dispersed. In November it was dis- 
banded by proclamation by Congress, as the state 
of affairs with England was such as to prove that 
the war was entirely at an end. 

Perhaps no act in Washington's life has pro- 
duced a stronger impression than his interference 
in this case ; and the people of Connecticut, per- 
haps, as deeply as any admired the virtue he dis- 
played, while they appreciated the importance of 
the results. Their local situation naturally led 
them to regard the occasion with deep solicitude. 

Connecticut, lying near the scene of action, 
would have been exposed to devastation had the 
army consented to reap with their swords the har- 
vest they had planted. Good men, who love to re- 
member in all things the superintendence of the 
L l2 



402 Washington's resignation. [1781. 

Creator, saw and must see great reason for grati- 
tude at the turn of affairs at that important crisis, 
on which the fate of the country seemed to be sus- 
pended. 

On the 8th of June, Washington informed Con- 
gress that he was now prepared to resign the com- 
mand of their armies, which he had received with 
such diffidence almost seven years before, and 
had exercised with such a combination of ability, 
self-denial, and disinterestedness as no other gen- 
eral ever displayed. His spontaneous relinquish, 
ment of such authority is worthy of the unqualified 
approbation of the good, and is likely to have a 
salutary influence, as an example, as long as his- 
tory shall be read and virtue esteemed. 

Washington, on laying aside his power, recom- 
mended four objects as in his opinion of primary 
value to the country : 

1st. A federation among the states; 

2d. A sacred regard to justice ; 

3d. The establishment of peace ; and, 

4th. The exercise of disinterestedness in the gov- 
ernment and the people. 



1781.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 403 



CHAPTER XLV. 1781-1806. 

The Debt of the Country and of Connecticut at the Close of the 
Revolutionary War.— Mr. Jay's commercial Treaty with Great 
Britain.— Effects in Connecticut. — Various Branches of In- 
dustry and Enterprise. — New Settlements.— Revival of the 
Fisheries. — General Hamilton's Plan for the Encouragement 
of Manufactures.— Importance of Mr. Whitney's Invention 
of the Cotton-gin. — Other Inventions.— The commercial Trea- 
ty of 1806.— American Commerce with Great Britain. 

Peace found the United States with an immense 
amount of debt, and in a state of deep depression. 
Bills of credit for three millions were issued by the 
United Colonies in 1775, and considerable sums 
by particular colonies. In 1778 the amount was 
above one hundred millions. In 1776 the colonies 
were called upon to raise five millions by sums 
apportioned. Connecticut had $600,000 of this 
to raise, while Massachusetts had only $820,000, 
Pennsylvania $620,000, Virginia $800,000, New- 
Jersey $270,000, North Carolina $250,000, New- 
Hampshire and New- York $200,000 each, Mary- 
land $520,000, South Carolina $500,000, Georgia 
$60,000, and Rhode Island $100,000. Connecti- 
cut had the fourth sum in amount. 

Connecticut, having suffered her full share in the 
expenses and trials of the war (excepting that none 
of her territory was ever long in possess:' on of the 
enemy), had to endure a heavy part of the debt 
which it left upon the country. By an estimate 
made by Congress at the close of the m ar, it ap - 



404 BRITISH COMMERCIAL REGULATIONS. [1783. 

peared that it had cost about one hundred and thir- 
ty-five millions ; and that the debt amounted to 
forty-two millions, of which eight millions consist- 
ed of money due to France and Holland. Con- 
gress proposed that $1,500,000 should be paid by 
the states, each taking its quota, and raising it in 
any manner it might prefer. A committee was 
appointed to draw up an address to the people, 
recommending this plan. It consisted of Messrs. 
Madison, Hamilton, and Ellsworth of Connecticut. 
The portion allotted to Connecticut was $132,000, 
that state being placed seventh on the list. This 
plan, however, failed ; and it was not until 1786 
that duties and imposts on foreign goods imported 
were appropriated to the payment of the national 
debt, by the consent of all the states. 

In 1783 Mr. Jay formed a treaty with Great 
Britain, which allowed, for a term, to American ves- 
sels and goods, in England, Ireland, and Scotland, 
the same freedom enjoyed by those of England. 
Mr. Pitt endeavoured to get the principle extended 
to the colonies : but, instead of this, the famous or- 
ders in Council were passed, by which American 
vessels were not allowed to go to the British West 
Indies, and beef, pork, &c, were not permitted 
to be taken thither from this country, even in Eng- 
lish vessels. It was then supposed in England that 
our government could not long exist, and that im 
pediments to our commerce would the sooner bring; 
back the country to seek the aid and protection of 
Great Britain. In 1788 Parliament confirmed 
those orders by its own acts. These measures 
gave a heavy blow to New-England, as was intend- 
ed. The carrying-trade was what England was 



1783.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 405 

now very jealous of, and wished to secure to her- 
self. At the time, the ministry thought that re- 
strictions upon it would soon cause a counter rev- 
olution : calculating on self-interest as more power- 
ful than patriotism. But in this they were disap- 
pointed. In 1789, the exports from all the colonies 
amounted to about thirteen millions of dollars, and 
the imports to about twelve. Not far from one 
quarter of the imports and exports are to be set 
d-own to New-England. In that year the imports 
into Connecticut from the south of Europe amount- 
ed to only about $1100, while the exports thith- 
er were $11,000. From the West Indies the 
imports were $240,000, and the exports thither 
$320,000. Besides this, a considerable trade was 
carried on with Great Britain, the amount of which 
is not specified. We only know that the imports 
for all New. England were about $910,000, and 
the exports $640,000. 

To show how American commerce increased, 
we have but to turn to the reports for 1791, when 
we find that the exports from the United States 
amounted to $19,000,000, of which Connecticut 
had $710,000. And the great amount was annu- 
ally swelled, by a nearly regular increase, until the 
year 1797, when it decreased. The year before, 
viz., 1796, the exports of Connecticut amounted 
to $1,450,000. It may easily be perceived, from 
these facts, that the people of Connecticut must 
naturally have felt some interest in all measures 
affecting trade. 

According to the treaty made with Great Britain 
in 1783, our commerce with England, Ireland, and 
Scotland was free : but that with the West Indies 



406 WEST INDIA TRADE. [1783. 

was left subject to the navigation and alien laws 
of that empire, somewhat relaxed. Parliament au- 
thorized the king and council to regulate the trade 
for a term, which was extended in succeeding years. 
On the 23d of December, 1783, an order in council 
was passed, which virtually forbade our vessels to 
trade with the West Indies : although, at the same 
time, and until 1791, we were allowed to send to 
England, Ireland, and Scotland, for the same duties 
as the British American colonies, all manufactured 
goods, pig and bar iron, pitch, tar, rosin, turpentine, 
pot and pearl ashes, masts and spars of American 
growth or production. The products of the fish- 
eries were excepted ; and these were to pay the 
lowest duties required of foreign countries. Such 
regulations were also made, that many articles 
were admitted into England, Scotland, and Ireland 
without duty : as iron, wood, all lumber, flaxseed, 
and ashes ; and, in times of scarcity, grain also. 

The third article of that treaty acknowledged 
the right of the Americans to fish on the Banks 
of Newfoundland : but that fishery was a source 
of no great wealth to the country until 1790. It 
was, for many years, almost confined to the people 
of Massachusetts. 

By an order in council, passed in 1783, vessels 
were permitted to take to the West Indies Amer- 
ican lumber, cattle, poultry, beef, pork, live provis- 
ions, and grain, and to export in return the produc- 
tions of the islands, on the same terms as in the 
commerce with British colonies. 

These arrangements had their effects in Con- 
necticut ; and great activity in her numerous ports, 
large and small, was the result. Vessels of differ- 



1783.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 407 

ent sizes were built on the river ; and a great va« 
riety of exports was furnished from her well-tilled 
farms and multiplying workshops. Horses were 
sent to the West Indies in great numbers, and the 
raising of mules was attended to for the same pur- 
pose, to keep up the stock of those useful animals 
in countries unfavourable to their increase. In re- 
turn, the productions of the islands were abundant 
and cheap ; and, as the commerce and the carrying, 
trade were both enjoyed by the active northerners, 
the profits were great. Unhappily, however, vast 
moral evils were introduced with the vast quanti- 
ties of rum which formed a large part of the re- 
turn cargoes ; and, for a time, it seemed as if in- 
temperance would bring total ruin. 

The first direct tax was laid by Congress in 
1798 ; and this mode of raising a revenue has 
been since resorted to three times. To avoid the 
odium which direct taxes naturally excite against 
rulers, other means of supplying the treasury were 
resorted to ; and the plan of General Hamilton was 
adopted, which provided for a revenue from duties 
on imports and the avails of public lands. 

In 1798 it was ordered that two millions should 
be raised ; and that amount was apportioned among 
the states according to the valuation of houses, land, 
and slaves between twelve and fifty years of age. 
The apportionment of Connecticut was $129,766, 
cents, and 2 mills. The land in the United States 
was 163,746,686 acres, valued at nearly 480 mill- 
ions of dollars ; there were 276,659 houses, val- 
ued at 140^ millions. Of these amounts Connec 
ticut had 2,649,149 acres, valued at above 40 mill- 
ions of dollars, and 23,565 houses, valued at about 



408 SETTLEMENTS IN THE WEST. [1783. 

eight millions. Connecticut, therefore, was then 
the fifth state with respect to the number of houses, 
and the sixth with respect to their value. 

The average amount of tonnage owned in the 
United States in 1799, 1800, and 1801, was 131,123. 
The population in 1790 was 3,929,326, exclusive 
of the territory northwest of Ohio, which contain- 
ed 35,691. Connecticut had 237,946 inhabitants, 
of whom 60,523 were free white males of 16 years 
old and over ; 54,403 under 16 ; and 117,448 free 
white females. The other free persons (that is, 
Indians) amounted to 2808. 

After the close of the war, the people of Connec- 
ticut began to apply themselves with energy to ev- 
ery branch of business which afforded encourage- 
ment. There was more inducement offered to them 
to devise a variety of employments than to the peo- 
ple of most other states, as they had but a small 
territory for their numbers, and generally an indif- 
ferent soil. They were now no longer forbidden to 
manufacture what they pleased ; and some began to 
seek employment on the seas, while others thought 
of settlements in other parts of the country. Many 
of the land titles given to the soldiers were sold : 
but settlements in Ohio were hardly commenced un- 
til General Meigs removed from Middletown to Ma- 
rietta, and formed one of the first settlements in the 
territory of that state. The middle and western 
parts of the state of New-York were almost a 
wilderness when Mr. White left Middletown with 
his axe on his shoulder, and chose a place for him- 
self at Whitestown, on the north bank of the Mo- 
hawk. Since that time an unknown multitude of 



1733.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 409 

men, women, and children have left Connecticut, 
and assisted, in an important degree, in forming 
the population of all the new western states. In 
some places, especially within a few past years, 
considerable communities have emigrated in com- 
pany, and settled together in distinct townships or 
districts, transplanting all their habits and man- 
ners, and inculcating them on their descendants. 
Many persons born in that state have long been 
inhabitants of other states ; and, in consequence 
of the general diffusion of education, have carried 
many happy influences with them. 

" During the six years which preceded the rev- 
olutionary war in America," says Dr. Dwight, 
" religion experienced no very material change ; 
and it may be doubted whether it gained or lost 
ground. But in the progress of this war it suf- 
fered far more than in that of 1755. All the evils 
which flowed from the former were multiplied in 
the latter. The foreigners with whom they had 
intercourse were not so numerous, perhaps, as in 
the war of 1755 ; but many of them were of far 
more dissolute characters. They were French- 
men ; disciples of Voltaire, Rousseau, D'Alembert, 
and Diderot ; men holding that loose and unde- 
fined atheism, which neither believes nor disbe- 
lieves the existence of God, and perfectly indiffer- 
ent whether he exists or not." * * * " To aid in 
the work of ruin, the paper currency of the coun- 
try operated in the most powerful and malignant 
manner." The same writer adds, in enumerating 
the evils produced by the war, that " the influ- 
ence resulting from a weak and fluctuating gov- 
ernment on the morals and happiness of mankrad, 
Mm 



410 MANUFACTURES ENCOURAGED. [1791. 

is, to say the least, not less malignant than that, of 
a settled despotism." This, unhappily, was the 
nature of the Confederation. 

The Constitution of the United States was form- 
ed by a Convention held in New-York, Connecti- 
cut being represented by three members : Will- 
iam Samuel Johnson, Roger Sherman, and Oliver 
Ellsworth. 

The Congress allowed the accounts presented 
by the different states for expenses paid for the 
war. All the southern and middle states were 
in arrears, except New*Jersey, South Carolina, 
and Georgia. New-York alone was in arrears 
$2,074,846. Connecticut had paid $9,285,737, 
92 cts., and the balance due her from the United 
States was $619,121. 

In 1790 Congress gave a great impulse to the 
cod fishery, by allowing a drawback on exported 
fish, which met the duty on salt. The people of 
Massachusetts embarked again in the business, and 
soon derived as great profits from it as before the 
Revolution, when they furnished a large share of 
the 4000 men then employed in it. The whale 
fishery also began to recover itself about this time ; 
for in 1789 there were 91 American vessels en- 
gaged in the northern branch of it, with a tonnage 
of 5820, and in the southern 31 vessels, of 4390 
tons and 1611 seamen. Connecticut, within a 
few years, has engaged to a considerable extent in 
the whale fishery. 

This year Mr. Hamilton, the secretary of state, 
made a celebrated report in favour of encouraging 
and protecting manufactures. Attempts had been 
made, without much success, in 1783. Manufac- 



1792.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 411 

tories of cotton and wool existed in Rhode Island, 
Massachusetts, and New-Jersey ; and Colonel Jer- 
emiah Wadsworth had one in Hartford, at which 
a suit of clothes was made, in which General 
Washington was dressed when he delivered his 
speech to Congress in January, 1790. As the 
wars in Europe gave much occupation to the 
Americans, little was done with manufactures un- 
til 1807, under our own restrictive system. Mr. 
Gallatin, secretary of the treasury, estimated the 
manufactures of the Union in 1810 at 120 mill- 
ions. The returns of the marshals who made the 
census show that Connecticut made in a year 
4,086,898 yards of cloths of various kinds, valued 
at $2,139,826, and had 16,132 looms. This was 
supposed to be about a quarter less than the true 
amount. Only seven states gave larger returns. 
Massachusetts was less, and Rhode Island more. 
Cotton manufactories had been introduced at Provi- 
dence by Samuel Slater some time after the war, and 
gradually extended. In Connecticut were now 14 
factories, with 11,883 spindles. In 1831 there were 
94 cotton-mills or factories, with 235,753 spindles, 
and 5773 looms, which made 37,121,681 yards, 
from 10,414,578 lbs. of cotton, employing 1731 
males, at $5 22 cts. a week, and 3297 females, at 
$2 20, besides 3472 children under 10 years of age, 
at $1 50. The capital employed was $2,825,000. 
In 1792 the exports of the United States to 
Great Britain and her dominions amounted to 
$9,363.416 ; and the imports from them to 
$15,285,428. By the treaty of 1794, liberty of 
commerce was secured with England, Ireland, and 
Scotland, the ships of both countries having to pay 



412 THE POLICY OF WASHINGTON. [1792. 

no higher duties than those of the most favoured 
nations, and Great Britain retaining the right of 
laying as high a tonnage duty as the United States. 
This treaty (except the first ten articles) expired 
in 1803. The West India trade was closed to us, 
except when occasionally opened to supply the 
wants of the islands. This was done for a time 
by the proclamations of the governors, and after- 
ward by the king in council. 

In 1806 a treaty was formed : but the West In- 
dia trade was still at the control of England. Our 
tonnage was nearly the same in amount in 1805, '6, 
and '7, as it had been for several preceding years. 

While the ports of England, Ireland, and Scot- 
land were open to our vessels, our exports gener- 
ally exceeded our imports, and the profits of the 
trade were chiefly enjoyed by our countrymen. 
The principal exports thither were cotton, rice, 
and tobacco ; and sometimes wheat and flour, flax 
seed, naval stores, ashes, and whale oil. The im- 
ports were manufactured goods. Connecticut fur- 
nished some of the latter articles, and much ship- 
ping. 

It was a prominent point in the policy of Wash- 
ington to guard our country against " entangling 
alliances" with foreign nations ; and it is impossi- 
ble to calculate all the forms and degrees to which 
it has influenced us. That policy prevailed ; and 
his administration and that of John Adams did not. 
incline to take part in the disputes of other pow- 
ers. Though there were constant wars in Eu- 
rope, our country had no share in the contests ; 
and our merchants furnished ships for a great part 
of the carrying trade. Bonaparte at length deter- 



1792.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 413 

mined that no nation should stand neutral ; and 
Mr. Jefferson seemed disposed to have the United 
States co-operate with France. The mission of 
Citizen Genet (which is hereafter to be mentioned) 
appeared to have such an object directly in view ; 
and, if so, the exertions of his opponents in Con- 
necticut probably had an important influence on 
the subsequent state of the Union. 

Connecticut has been distinguished for the num- 
ber of its inventors. One of the most distinguish- 
ed inventors in the United States was Mr. Eli 
Whitney, a native of Massachusetts, who spent 
many years of his useful life at New-Haven, Con- 
necticut. In 1791 he invented the cotton gin, 
which was soon brought into general use in the 
Southern States, and rendered upland cotton a prof- 
itable crop, by separating the seeds from the fibre 
in a cheap and expeditious manner. He received 
from South Carolina $60,000 for his patent in that 
state : but this, in consequence of large expenses 
incurred in vainly seeking remuneration in several 
of the states, was a very inadequate reward for his 
most useful machine. He invented great improve- 
ments in making muskets, and established a very 
successful manufactory at New- Haven. 

The manufacture of tin ware was first begun in 
Meriden ; and for many years the United States 
were chiefly supplied from that place, by wagons 
which were sent out in all directions. The tin 
plate was imported from England. Numerous 
manufactories now exist in different parts of the 
Union. Several useful inventions were made in 
East Haddam soon after the Revolution, particu- 
larly a machine for cutting out iron screws. 
M m2 



414 THE FIRST COTTON MACHINERY. [1794. 

A machine for making bricks was invented and 
put into operation at Hartford by Mr. Kingsley, 
by which the clay, after being received into a cyl- 
inder, was ground, moulded, and delivered in per- 
fect form. In the same town was established a 
type-foundry by Mr. White, in which important im- 
provements were introduced by him. 

The Hatter's Circular Dye-kettle and Wheel, 
which have been extensively adopted by hatters in 
Europe as well as in America, were invented in 
Danbury in 1823, by Joel Taylor. 

These inventions, and the numerous models of 
useful machines deposited in the patent office in 
Washington by Connecticut, show the ingenuity of 
the people of this state. 

The first cotton-mill ever used in Connecticut 
was put into operation in Manchester in 1794. 
Ark wright's ingenious and useful invention, which 
had been adopted in England, had excited the at- 
tention of intelligent and enterprising men in Amer- 
ica, and several unsuccessful experiments were 
made. The opinion too extensively prevailed, that 
our countrymen were not capable of managing it 
with success ; and it required experience to estab- 
lish the opposite belief. The cotton-mill or factory 
at Manchester was fitted up under the direction 
of an Englishman, by Messrs. Pitkin & Co. ; and 
velvets, corduroys, and fustians were fabricated. 
This was the second put into operation in the Uni- 
ted States, being preceded only by that established 
by Samuel Slater in Providence, and before the one 
first set up in New-Jersey. Little, however, was 
done in the manufacture of cotton in Connecticut 
until 1804. 



1806.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 415 



CHAPTER XLVI. 1806-1812. 

The Attachment of Connecticut to the Policy of Washington. 
— Her Adherence to the Federal Party.— The Non-intercourse 
Laws. — The Embargo. — War declared against Great Britain 
in 1812.— Act of Congress to raise 100,000 Militia.— Governor 
Griswold required to detach 3000 Men —General Dearborn 
applies for Militia to do garrison Duty under United States 
Officers. — He is refused by the Governor. — The Legislature 
approves of his Refusal.— The Ground of it. 

As Connecticut was one of the earliest and most 
decided, active, and persevering members of the 
United Colonies in resisting British oppression, she 
was also one of the most devoted friends of the 
Constitution, as well as of Washington, and his prin- 
ciples and policy. A modern French writer has 
remarked, that "it is the glory of America that she 
was wise enough to appreciate and acknowledge 
Washington in spite of the little exertion he made 
to present himself to public view." 

Connecticut, then, deserves a large share of the 
honour. In no part of the country was there an 
earlier, more unanimous, or decided sentiment in 
favour of the principles he adopted and the meas- 
ures he pursued during the Revolution, and the 
policy, both internal and external, which was es- 
tablished under his administration after the return of 
peace. The people were among the warmest ad- 
mirers of his virtues, and faithfully transmitted to 
their children an exalted reverence for him whom 
they loved to call " The Father of his Country." 



416 CITIZEN GENET. [1806. 

During his administration, which extended from 
1789 till 1797, and that of John Adams, of Massa- 
chusetts, which was from 1797 to 180 I, several dis- 
tinguished Connecticut men held high national offi- 
ces. Oliver Wolcott was appointed secretary of 
the treasury in 1795, and continued till 1800 ; 
Oliver Ellsworth chief-justice in 1796, and minis- 
ter to France in 1799 ; Jonathan Trumbull speak- 
er of the House of Representatives in 1792; Col- 
onel Humphreys minister to Spain in 1796, and 
afterward to Portugal ; Rcger Griswold secretary 
of war in*1801. 

When Mr. Jefferson opposed the Constitution, 
and the Anti-federal party began to be formed, 
Connecticut was ranged among its adherents, and 
uniformly opposed his views and administration. 
In the course of it, Citizen Genet, as he was called 
in the republican language of France (or, rather, 
the dialect of atheism), came to the United States 
as envoy from that country, and began a tour 
through the states, to form " Democratic Socie- 
ties." The plan of these was to organize a cor- 
respondence with Jacobin associations in France, 
whose objects were understood to be political, and 
aimed directly against the independence of Great 
Britain. The people of Connecticut accused Mr. 
Jefferson of a strong partiality for the infidel and 
revolutionary principles of the French government 
of those times ; and, regarding Great Britain as 
the bulwark of the Christian religion and human 
liberty in Europe, had no desire to see the United 
States joining with her enemies and co-operating 
for her destruction. Washington was decidedly 
opposed to "entangling alliances" with other na- 



1806.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 417 

tions ; and his advice they held in high respect. 
When Citizen Genet, therefore, approached Con- 
necticut, although he was preceded by accounts of 
the favour and success he had met in other places, 
he found the feelings of the people so different from 
what he wished, and his enterprise was treated with 
so much irony and ridicule by some of the litera- 
ry men of Hartford, that he turned back without 
crossing the boundary, gave up all attempts in 
New-England, and soon abandoned his whole en- 
terprise in America. 

Mr. Jefferson left the presidency in 1809, after 
being in it eight years. His opponents (including 
most of the people of Connecticut) still charged 
him with want of the practical good sense, and the 
knowledge of government necessary to perform 
well the duties of a leading statesman ; and as- 
serted that he had neither introduced nor proposed 
a single change in the internal policy of the coun- 
try. They also charged him with want of sincer- 
ity in declaring that the leading Federalists were 
friends of royalty, and entertained the design of 
converting the American republic into a monarchy. 
The people of Connecticut, whose institutions had 
been of the most democratic character from the 
early history of their colony, whose habits and 
manners had ever been simple and republican, and 
who, after sustaining the Revolution with distin- 
guished spirit, had exercised their characteristic 
good faith in steadily adhering to the constitution 
and laws of the United States, regarded the charge 
of monarchical predilections against men of their 
choice as unprovoked and injurious. 

As the succeeding administration of Mr. Madi- 



418 THE WAR OF 1812. [1812. 

son pursued the policy of Mr. Jefferson, and Con- 
necticut maintained her former views, her repre- 
sentatives formed an active portion of the minority 
in Congress who opposed the non-intercourse laws 
of 1809, and the declaration of war against Eng- 
land in 1812. Some of her merchants had suf- 
fered the loss of vessels taken by the French un- 
der the Berlin and Milan decrees, as well as by 
the English under the orders in Council ; and they 
accused the administration of a dangerous partiality 
for the former, while they were unwilling to en- 
gage in a contest with either. Their commerce 
had suffered severely from the embargo and non- 
intercourse acts (the exports having fallen from 
above a million and a half to less than half a mill- 
ion), and now it seemed to be in danger of total 
destruction. 

War with Great Britain was declared by Con- 
gress on the 18th of June, 1812, to the great re- 
gret of the majority of the people of Connecticut, 
and of several of the other states. Two reasons 
\vere alleged for the war : the British orders in 
Council, and the claim of that government to the 
right of search, or taking her seamen from Ameri- 
can ships. The opposers of the declaration of war 
urged that negotiation should be longer tried be- 
fore an appeal to arms, and charged the adminis- 
tration with a partiality for France, and a wish to 
favour her by weakening Great Britain, her prin- 
cipal opponent. The minority in the United States 
House of Representatives published an address to 
the people, with their reasons for voting against 
the declaration of war. 

Two months afterward, Congress passed an act 



1812.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 419 

authorizing President Madison to require of the 
governors of the states and territories to hold in 
readiness their proportions of " one hundred thou- 
sand militia, to march at a moment's warning." 
These were to be " officered out of the present 
militia officers or others, at the option and discre- 
tion of the constitutional authority in the respective 
states and territories ; the President of the United 
States appointing the general officers among the 
respective states and territories as he may deem 
proper." The president was also " authorized to 
call into actual service any part or the whole of 
said detachment, in the exigences provided by the 
Constitution." 

On the 15th of April the secretary of war wrote 
to the governor of Connecticut, requiring him to 
detach 3000 men as the quota of that state ; Vs 
equip and organize them in companies, battalions, 
regiments, brigades, and divisions as soon as pos- 
sible, in the proportions of one twentieth artillery, 
one twentieth cavalry, and the residue infantry* 
One tenth part or less might be riflemen, if desired. 
These troops were to be exercised, but not im- 
bodied nor considered as in actual service until 
ordered into the field. It had been generally be- 
lieved, especially at Washington, that the presi- 
dent and his friends seriously intended to invade 
Canada ; and the anxiety of the people of New- 
England was great when they perceived how much 
their seacoast lay exposed to the enemy, knowing 
that it was almost entirely unprovided with forts 
as well as troops. 

Mr. Eustis, secretary of war, on the 12th of 
June, wrote to Governor Griswold a request from 



420 THE MILITIA NOT GIVEN TJP. [1812. 

the president that he would order into service the 
quota of the state on the requisition of Major-gen- 
eral Dearborn ; and the governor replied, on the 
17th, that he should do so without delay. On the 
22d, General Dearborn requested of him two com- 
panies of artillery and two of infantry, " to be placed 
under the command of the commanding officer at 
Fort Trumbull, near New-London ; and one com- 
pany of artillery, to be stationed at the battery at 
the entrance of the harbour of Ne w-Haven." Gov- 
ernor Griswold did not comply with this request, 
and gave his reasons to the Council, which he 
convoked to consider the subject in October. He 
stated that the act of Congress of April 10th au- 
thorized the president to call for militia only " in 
exigences provided by the Constitution ;" and that 
the Constitution provides for no exigences except 
three : viz., " to execute the laws of the Union, to 
suppress insurrections, and repel invasions ;" and, 
as none of these exigences existed, the president 
was not authorized to make the demand ; and he 
(the governor) would violate his duty if he should 
comply with it. The council approved of his con- 
duct, while they declared that the state would 
"ever support the national government in all con- 
stitutional measures." They alluded to the inten- 
tion of General Dearborn to place the troops under 
United States officers, and to detach a part of the 
organized militia. The former, especially, they 
viewed as unconstitutional, as the Constitution pro- 
vides that officers shall be appointed by the states. 
The exigences above mentioned not existing, they 
viewed the governor as " of right the commander- 
in-chief of the militia, and that they cannot thus be 



1812.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 421 

withdrawn from his authority." Massachusetts 
adopted a similar course. 

On the 15th of July, General Dearborn wrote to 
the governors of Connecticut and Massachusetts 
that he had been ordered to Albany to place the 
northern frontier in a slate of defence, and would 
soon be obliged to draw off so many of the regular 
troops, that it would be necessary to call a portion 
of the militia to guard the coast, as it would other- 
wise be left with less protection " than prudence 
would have justified." The advice of his council 
was asked by Governor Strong, and the opinion 
of the supreme court of that state, which then con- 
sisted of Theophilus Parsons, Samuel Sewall, and 
Isaac Parker ; and their replies coincided with his 
views and conduct. 

Governor Griswold's health was now declining, 
so that the duties of his office had devolved on the 
lieutenant-governor for a time, John Cotton Smith. 
He wrote to the secretary of war on the 2d of 
July, that the militia demanded by General Dear- 
born would not be called out ; and the secretary re- 
plied on the 14th that he was instructed by the 
president to state, that the danger of invasion ac- 
tually existed, although the news of war could 
hardly have reached England. General Dearborn, 
on the 17th of July, repeated his request for the five 
companies, adding that those to be sent to Fort 
Trumbull should be under a major appointed by the 
state : but this, of course, was also declined. 

The governor met the council on the 4th of 

August, when they agreed that the only ground 

for demanding the militia which was then taken 

(viz., the fact that war had been declared) must 

Nn 



422 ANOTHER REQUISITION DISOBEYED. [1812. 

exist as long as war should continue. It was also 
demanded that the militia should do ordinary gar- 
rison duty ; and, on the same principle, they might 
" be called to march to any place within the United 
States to perform the same duty, and this from time 
to time, and at all times, during the continuance of 
the war." They farther objected, that the militia 
were not demanded from places most convenient 
to the place of danger or scene of action, although 
that is expressly provided for by the act of Con- 
gress of February 28th, 1795. The Council re- 
marked, " It is believed that the militia of this state 
would be among the first to perform their consti- 
tutional duties, and not among the last to under, 
stand and justly to appreciate their constitutional 
rights." * * * " But if the Congress of the United 
States have seen fit to declare war before they have 
carried into effect another provision of the Consti- 
tution to raise and support armies, it does not fol- 
low that the militia are bound to enter their forts 
and garrisons to perform ordinary garrison duty, 
and wait for an invasion which may never happen." 
"It is surely important," they added, "that the 
Constitution and sovereignty of this state should 
not be impaired or encroached upon ; that the pow- 
ers 4 delegated to the United States' may be exer- 
cised, and the powers 'reserved to the states re- 
spectively' may be retained." The Council there- 
fore advised the governor " to retain the militia of 
this state under his command, and decline a com- 
pliance with the requisition of the secretary of war 
and Major-general Dearborn. 

The General Assembly was now called to meet 
on the fourth Tuesday of August ; and, after com- 



1812.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 423 

municating the foregoing particulars, and asking 
their attention to them, he says that " the Constitu- 
tion provides for each state's organizing and sup- 
porting a military force of its own, which cannot, 
under any circumstances, be controlled by the gen- 
eral government, and which may undoubtedly be 
applied in all cases to the defence of the state." 
He recommended that such a force should be or- 
ganized, but so as not to " interfere with any lib- 
eral measures which the general government may 
take for the same object." The Assembly passed 
the following resolution : 

Resolved, That the conduct of his excellency the 
governor, in refusing to order the militia of this 
state into the service of the United States, on the 
requisition of the secretary of war and Major- 
general Dearborn, meets with the entire approba- 
tion of this Assembly." They also declared, that 
" they believe it to be the deliberate and solemn 
sense of the people of the state that war was unne- 
cessary." An election took place very soon after 
this meeting, and 163 members were chosen of the 
party called the Federal, and 36 of that called the 
Democratic, giving the former a majority of 127. 

When Congress met in November, the president 
informed them, in his message, that the governors 
of Massachusetts and Connecticut had refused to 
furnish their detachments of militia ; proceeding 
on " a novel and unfortunate exposition of the Con- 
stitution, by which the authority of the United 
States to call out and command the militia might 
be frustrated, even in war, and under apprehensions 
of invasions preceding war, and the unity of the 
nation destroyed. The only resource might be," 



424 BLOCKADE OF THE SOUND. [1813. 

he added, " in those large and permanent military 
establishments which are forbidden by the princi- 
ples of our free government." This part of the 
address was referred to a committee of the Senate, 
the chairman of which was Mr. Giles, of Virginia : 
but they made no report on the subject. 

Governor Griswold was regarded by most of 
the people of the state as having taken a stand of 
great importance : because the claim which he 
maintained, if it had been yielded up, would prob- 
ably have been lost for ever, and every militia man, 
in time of war, would have been constantly exposed 
to be made a common soldier, to march to the ex- 
tremities of the country, and even to invade foreign 
lands, at the will of an officer of the United States' 
army. The governor died during the October 
session ; and Lieutenant-governor Smith was af- 
terward elected in his place. 

The first invasion of Canada was made that sea- 
son by General Hull, who commanded the army in 
Michigan : but he soon retreated to Detroit, where 
he surrendered the town, with all his troops and 
that territory. Captain Hull, a native of Connec- 
ticut, in sailing without orders from New-York in 
August, in the frigate Constitution, captured the 
British frigate Guerriere after a severe action ; 
and several naval victories over single ships were 
gained at different periods of the war. 

In 1813 the coast was blockaded for some time 
by several British ships of war, cruising near 
New-London, where General Burbeck was in 
command, under the United States' authority. 
Even the enemy's small naval force was sufficient 
to cause continual alarm, as the American navy 



1813.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 425 

had been neglected by the government, as an inef- 
ficient and too expensive arm of national defence, 
and was too feeble to oppose them. A body of mi- 
litia was stationed at New-London under General 
Burbeck, who was commander of that military dis- 
trict, as there was then an actual invasion. On the 
first week in July, Governor Smith detached an- 
other body of militia for New-London from other 
parts of the state ; immediately after which he was 
informed by General Burbeck, that he had received 
orders from Washington to discharge the militia 
at that place. They were accordingly discharged : 
but, in a few days, an express came to Governor 
Smith, with a letter from General Burbeck, de- 
manding another detachment for the defence of 
New-London. The British squadron had received 
a re-enforcement, and now amounted to two ships 
of the line, two frigates, a brig, and several trans- 
ports : and the citizens of that town and Groton 
also sent an urgent petition for protection. The 
governor immediately complied ; and, at the re- 
quest of the Council, which he convoked on the 
20th, sent another detachment. Many of the 
troups who had been first called out were from the 
vicinity of New-London, and now were ordered 
out again, after one term of service, instead of 
those who had been called out to relieve them, 
and disbanded by orders from Washington. This 
was unnecessarily harassing. 

The Assembly met in October, when a joint 
committee, in a report on the subject of the war, 
spoke of " the general plan of warfare adopted by 
the administration of the national government as 
not conformable to the spirit of the Constitution of 
Nn 2 



426 UNITED STATES SHIPS BLOCKADED. [1813. 

the United States." The inhabitants of the coasts, 
they said, " had an undoubted and imperative right 
to such protection as the government could pro- 
vide : instead of which, the regular forces have 
been, almost without exception, ordered away from 
the Atlantic frontier to the interior of the country, 
for the purpose of carrying hostilities into the ter- 
ritory of unoffending provinces, and in pursuit of 
conquests which, if achieved, would probably pro- 
duce no solid benefit to the nation ; while the sea- 
coast is left exposed to the multiplied horrors usu- 
ally produced by an invading and exasperated en 
emy." 



CHAPTER XL VII. 1813-1814. 

The War continues. — The British Squadron off New-London. — 
Three United States' Ships driven by it into New-London. — 
Troops demanded and furnished by Connecticut for their Pro- 
tection and the Defence of that place. — Capture of Poutapaug 
by the British.— Destruction of Property. — The Governor and 
Legislature complain that Connecticut is left unprotected by 
the General Government. — Requisition on Connecticut for 
3000 men— Attack on Stonington by a British Fleet.— The 
Coa8t of the United States kept in a state of Alarm. — The 
Capture of Washington and Alexandria.— Defeat and Death 
of General Ross near Baltimore. 

In June, 1813, the United States frigates United 
States and Macedonian, with the sloop-of-war Hor- 
net, passed down Long Island Sound to proceed to 
sea : but, finding the British squadron in the way, 
they took refuge in New-London harbour. It was 
thought that the enemy might follow and attempt 
to capture them ; and this caused much alarm, 



1814.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 427 

because there was no considerable force for their 
protection. The ships were therefore taken about 
six miles up the river Thames, and laid up under 
the high banks, to which their guns were afterward 
raised to command the spot. Governor Smith 
was urgently requested to provide for the defence 
of New-London and the national vessels ; and im- 
mediately ordered a large body of militia to be 
stationed at that city and other places near it, un- 
der the command of Major-general Williams. 
Some of these troops were detached from those 
in service, and others were raised for the purpose. 
On the evening of April 7th, 1814, two or three 
ships of the British squadron came to the mouth 
of Connecticut. River, anchored outside the bar, 
and sent up two launches, armed with nine and 
twelve-pound carronades, and fifty or sixty men 
each, with four barges carrying about twenty-five 
men apiece, under the command of Lieutenant 
Coote. They went prepared with torches and 
combustibles, to burn a number of vessels at Pou- 
tapaug, which had been laid up near thai enter- 
prising little village, now called Essex. Some of 
the boats stopped a short time at Saybrook Point, 
about midnight, where the inhabitants were unpro- 
tected and unable to make any resistance, though 
a few men in the old fort would have sufficed. The 
enemy did no injury there, but proceeded for Pou- 
tapaug. Though that was only five or six miles 
farther, the wind was strong from the north and the 
water high, so that they did not arrive there before 
four in the morning. The people had no notice of 
their approach more than half an hour before they 
arrived ; and, no measures having been taken for 



428 CONNECTICUT UNPROTECTED. [1814. 

their defence, the enemy posted sentinels around 
the place, broke open stores and houses in search 
of arms and ammunition, and set fire to the ship- 
ping. They destroyed 22 vessels of different 
sizes, worth about $160,000, of which amount 
$60,000 was owned in the village. At 10 o'clock 
the boats departed ; and the militia, having assem- 
bled at several points on both banks, gave them 
some annoyance, but could not prevent their return. 

It is remarkable, that most of the places within 
the bounds of Connecticut which have suffered 
from the invasion of enemies, are near or upon 
the spots in which the Indians were treated with 
cruelty in the early history of the colony. Pou- 
tapaug is the spot where Uncas lauded when pro- 
ceeding against the Pequod country with Captain 
Mason in 1636; and near this place he and his 
Mohegans tortured to death one of the enemy, 
when they ought to have been prevented by the 
English. In Stonington is the Pequod fort which 
was burned, with many of its inhabitants. In Fair- 
field is the swamp in which some of the remnants 
of the warlike Pequod nation were killed or cap- 
tured, to be exported as slaves. New-London was 
the chief residence of that people ; and, from the 
eastern shore of their favourite bay, near the foot 
of the hill on which Groton fort was erected, some 
of them were forcibly driven by Captain Church, 
after they had returned to cultivate their native 
soil. 

Meanwhile, the government of the United States 
furnished few or no troops for the defence of those 
parts of the country most exposed to invasion, 
Connecticut was left entirely unprotected. Gov- 



1814.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 429 

ernor Smith, in his speech to the Legislature in 
May of that year, remarked as follows : " I am 
not informed that any effectual arrangements are 
made by the national government to put our sea- 
coast into a more respectable state of defence. 
Should the plan of the last campaign be revived, 
and especially should the war retain the desolating 
character it has been made to assume, the states 
on the Atlantic border cannot be insensible to the 
dangers which await them. To provide for our 
common defence was an avowed, and, it may be 
said with truth, the chief purpose for which the 
present Constitution was formed. How far this 
object is promoted by aiming at foreign conquest, 
and resigning our most wealthy and populous fron- 
tier to pillage and devastation, becomes a moment- 
ous inquiry." * * * " In any event, I am persuaded 
that we shall place no reliance on a declared ene- 
my ; and that, if the aid to which we are entitled 
is withheld, the means which God has given us will 
be faithfully employed for our safety. It is with 
concern I lay before you an official statement of 
the destruction of a very considerable number of 
private vessels at Saybrook, by a detachment from 
the British squadron. The misfortune is imbitter- 
ed by the reflection that it would probably have 
been prevented by a small force stationed at Fort 
Fenwick, at the entrance of Connecticut River. 
It will be recollected that a guard, authorized by 
the United States, was kept at that post nearly the 
whole of the last season. It was dismissed early 
in December. Information of the exposed condi- 
tion of these vessels, and of the consequent appre- 
hensions of the town for their safety, was duly 



430 MEN FURNISHED. [1814. 

transmitted to the war department, and the atten- 
tion of the government to these important objects 
was earnestly solicited. It was presumed, as there 
were regular troops in the vicinity, either that the 
request would be promptly complied with, or, if 
such an arrangement was inconvenient, that this 
government would be frankly and seasonably ap- 
prized of it. In the latter case, the force of the 
state would have been applied not less readily to 
the protection of the persons and property of our 
citizens, than it had been to the defence of the na- 
tional squadron." 

In July, 1814, Governor Smith received a letter 
from the department of war, being a circular, cop- 
ies of which were sent to the governors of several 
other states. The secretary (General Armstrong) 
having remarked that " the late pacification in Eu- 
rope offers to the enemy a large disposable force, 
both naval and military," adds, that " the president 
deemed it advisable to invite the executive of cer- 
tain states to organize, and hold in readiness for 
immediate service, a corps of 93,500 men, under 
the laws of February, 1795, and the 18th of April, 
1814." 

The detail of the requisition on Connecticut was 
as follows : three regiments, viz., 300 artillery, 
2700 infantry ; total, 3000. General staff, one ma- 
jor-general, one brigadier-general, one deputy- 
quartermaster-general, one assistant-adjutant-gen- 
eral. General Cushing made a requisition on 
Governor Smith for 1700 of these troops, of which 
Gen. Taylor took command : afterward the whole 
3000 were ordered out, and stationed at points most 
exposed to the enemy. 



1814.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 431 

On the 9th of August Stonington was attacked 
by the enemy. The Ramilies 74 (the flagship), 
the Pactolus 38, a bombship, and the 22-gun brig 
Despatch, were observed in the morning ; and at 5 
o'clock notice was received from Commodore Har- 
dy by the magistrates that they would destroy the 
town, after allowing one hour for the removal of 
the inhabitants and their effects. The officer said 
that Admiral Cochrane had ordered the destruc- 
tion of the place, and that no propositions would 
be received. 

The fort on the Point was immediately occupied 
by a few volunteers, though it had only a slight 
breastwork and two 18 and one 4 pounder on field 
carriages, while some militia were stationed at 
different places on the shore by Lieutenant Hough, 
expresses sent off* to General Cushing at New- 
London for help, and the inhabitants hurried into 
the country. General Cushing, the United States 
commander of the district, considering the move- 
ment as only a feint to draw off* his forces from 
Fort Griswold, arranged with the commanding 
state officer, to send a regiment to Stonington, one 
to the head of Mystic River to guard Fort Gris- 
wold, a regiment of artillery to Norwich port to 
protect the United States' ships, and a like force to 
New-London. 

At 8 in the morning the bombardment of Sto- 
nington commenced ; and it continued till mid- 
night, with frequent discharges of rockets and car- 
casses from a number of barges and launches, while 
the fort fired in return. It is remarkable that no 
injury was done by the enemy. At daylight the 
boats, having passed round to the east side of the 



432 DEFENCE OF STONINGTON. [l'814, 

town, began their firing again : but they were 
soon driven off by one of the cannon brought from 
the fort. The brig, however, coming up near the 
Point, the fort was abandoned after spiking the 
guns, and she kept an ineffectual fire upon the 
town during an hour. In the mean time, a consid- 
erable number of troops having arrived, as well as 
a supply of powder, one of the large guns at the 
fort was bored, and directed with such effect that 
the brig drew off. 

The two larger vessels then anchored within 
two miles of the town, when the magistrates sent 
a flag of truce on board, asking the commodore's 
designs. He demanded a promise that no torpe- 
does should be sent against the squadron, and that 
Mrs. Stewart, the wife of the British consul at 
New. London, should be sent on board. They re- 
plied that they had no control over that lady. 
Bombshells were thrown from 3 P.M. till night, 
and from the following morning till noon, accom- 
panied with the fire of the other ships. During 
this time only 50 men were left in the town to ex- 
tinguish fires, as the few guns of the Americans 
could not reach the enemy ; and, although most of 
the houses were injured, and some set on fire, none 
were destroyed, no lives lost, and only two or 
three men wounded. The Norwich artillery, under 
Lieutenant Lathrop, distinguished themselves, next 
to the defenders of the fort, by boldness and activ- 
ity in this brave and successful defence. The en- 
emy, having been entirely thwarted in their unjus- 
tifiable design, abandoned the undertaking ; and 
the safety of other places on the coast is to be at- 
tributed in a great measure to the gallantry of these 
militia-men. 



1815.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 433 

In 1814 the British cruisers kept the whole At- 
lantic coast in a state of alarm, and destroyed so 
much property wherever they made a descent, that 
the public anxiety was extreme in places most ex. 
posed to their ships. They held complete com- 
mand of Chesapeake Bay ; and in August landed 
a large force, which, with little opposition, march- 
ed through Bladensburgh to Washington. All the 
national buildings, except the Patent Office, were 
burned. Alexandria was at the same time cap- 
tured by a squadron, and robbed of all her naval 
stores and merchandise, as well as shipping. Bal- 
timore was next attacked, but successfully defended 
by extraordinary bravery and exertions ; and the 
enemy retreated to their vessels with the loss of 
their commander, General Ross. 



CHAPTER XL VIII. 1815. 

The President calls an extra Session of Congress. — Alarming 
Apprehensions from the Enemy. — Mr. Monroe's Plan for in- 
creasing and concentrating the Military Power of the United 
States. — Resolutions passed by the Assembly of Connecti- 
cut, protesting against it as Unconstitutional and threaten- 
ing to Liberty.— Castine captured by the Enemy. — Petitions 
to the Legislature of Massachusetts for a Convention. — It 
meets at Hartford.— Its Proceedings.— The News of Peace. 
— Received with general Joy. 

The president convoked Congress in Septem- 
ber, 1814, when he expressed expectations of an 
increase of the enemy's force, with determined at- 
O o 



434 PROSPECTS OF THE WAR. [1815. 

tempts from them to conquer the United States. 
He, with Mr. Monroe, secretary of war, recom- 
mended an increase of the regular troops (from 
62,448 men to 102,448), and a more efficient or- 
ganization of the militia. He spoke of the nation 
as one " contending for its existence against an en- 
emy powerful by land and sea," and " forced to 
contend again for our liberties and independence." 
He said it was " the avowed purpose of the ene- 
my to lay waste and destroy our cities and vil- 
lages, and to desolate our coast, of which exam- 
ples have already been afforded ;" and it was "ev- 
idently his intention to press the war along the 
whole extent of our seaboard ;" also, that there 
was " reason to presume that it is the intention to 
press the war from Canada on the adjoining states, 
while attempts are to be made on the city of New- 
York and other important points, with a view to 
dismemberment or subjugation." He inferred, be- 
sides, that parts of the scheme were to continue 
to invade the country near Washington, and to 
capture New-Orleans. One hundred thousand 
regular troops, actively aided on emergencies by 
militia and volunteers, he thought, would ensure 
success, " fix on a solid and imperishable foundation 
our union and independence," and secure " an ear- 
ly and advantageous peace." 

The secretary of war, at the same time, declared 
in his report, that " if the United States sacrifice 
any right or make any dishonourable concession 
to the claims of the British government, the spirit 
of the nation will be broken, and the foundation of 
their union and independence shaken. The United 
States must relinquish no right, or perish in the 



1815.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 435 

struggle. There is no intermediate ground to rest 
on." 

Such expressions and propositions, from such of- 
ficers as the president and secretary of war, caused 
a strong sensation. Those who were opposed to 
the war charged the administration with having 
rashly engaged in it when Napoleon was on his 
march into Russia with the prospect of victory ; 
and now, after his defeat and flight had led to a 
general peace in Europe, with being afraid of the 
consequences, and ready to resort to desperate 
measures, dangerous to the country. The orders 
in Council having been repealed immediately after 
the declaration, no ground remained except the 
question of the impressment of seamen ; and that 
might probably be soon satisfactorily settled by 
negotiation during an armistice. Common sense, 
as well as Christianity, they urged, should demand 
that hostilities be at least suspended between two 
Protestant nations, united by language, mutual in- 
terests, and blood. 

To increase the regular army, Mr. Monroe had 
proposed two plans. The former was to divide 
the citizens of the United States into divisions of 
100 men each, so that each division might em- 
brace a nearly equal amount of property, and be 
required to furnish and equip a number of men 
for the army, paying them a sum equal to the 
bounty allowed to soldiers by the United States. 
If not paid, their taxable property was to be levied 
on to raise it. The recruits were to be delivered 
to the recruiting officer of the district, and marched 
whithersoever the secretary of war might direct. 
It was proposed also, soon after, by the secretary 



436 THE ENEMY CAPTURE CASTINE. [1815. 

of the navy, to keep a register of all the seamen in 
the country, and require them to perform service 
in the navy in turn, when needed. A bill was 
brought before the Senate to authorize the enlist- 
ment of men between 18 and 50 years of age, with- 
out requiring the consent of parents or guardians 
for minors ; and this, perhaps, as much as any 
other step, excited extreme anxiety, especially 
among " the cautious people" of Connecticut. The 
Assembly were in session when the news arrived ; 
and the Representatives passed a resolution, with 
but six dissentient voices, that, whereas a bill was 
pending by which " our sons, brothers, and friends 
are made liable to be delivered against their wills, 
and by force, to the marshals and recruiting offi- 
cers of the United States, to be employed, not for 
our own defence, but for the conquest of Canada, 
or upon any foreign service upon which the ad- 
ministration may choose to send them, or impose 
upon the people of this state * a capitation or 
other direct tax,' limited by no rules but the will of 
the officers appointed by the President of the Uni- 
ted States ;" and whereas such principles are op- 
pressive, subversive of liberty, inconsistent with the 
Constitution, &c. ; " and whereas it will become the 
imperious duty of the Legislature of this state to 
ward off a blow so fatal to the liberties of a free 
people," it was determined that the governor should 
immediately convoke the Legislature in case the bill 
should be adopted. 

In the course of the same season the British cap- 
tured Castine, and had command of that part of 
Maine east from it, and threatened farther en- 
croachments ; and the Legislature of Massachu- 



1815.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 437 

setts, in a great majority, sustained Governor Strong 
in a course like that taken by Connecticut. 

Some of the difficulties of the times were in- 
creased by the suspension of specie payments by 
most of the banks south of Connecticut ; and this 
threatened to enhance the great pecuniary embar- 
rassments caused by the war. Connecticut had 
already suffered much : for the government of the 
United States had decidedly refused to pay the ex- 
penses of the troops for the two preceding years. 

Early in the year, numerous towns in Massa- 
chusetts had petitioned for energetic measures for 
the protection of the country, proposing a conven- 
tion of delegates from other states, to devise " prop- 
er methods to procure the united efforts of the 
commercial states, to obtain such amendments and 
explanations of the Constitution as will secure them 
from farther evils. This was the origin of the 
Hartford Convention, which consisted of twelve 
delegates from the Massachusetts legislature, seven 
from that of Connecticut, four from that of Rhode 
Island, two from two counties of New-Hampshire, 
and one from a county of Vermont. 

The delegates from Connecticut were appointed 
at the October session of the Assembly, on the in- 
vitation of that of Massachusetts; and, after an 
address, a resolution was also adopted, declaring 
that they were to meet other delegates to confer 
on subjects proposed by Massachusetts, and others 
which might come before them, " for the purpose 
of devising and recommending such measures for 
the safety and welfare of these states as may con- 
sist with our obligations as members of the Nation- 
al Union." 

O o2 



438 HARTFORD CONVENTION. [1815. 

The delegates met on the 15th of December ; 
and, after a session of three weeks, adjourned, pro- 
viding for another meeting in case of need, and pub- 
lishing a report of their proceedings. Many had de- 
nounced the meeting as treasonable. Their resolu- 
tions were in substance ijhese : to recommend meas- 
ures to be taken to guard the citizens " from the op- 
oration and effects of all acts" of the United States 
"subjecting the militia or other citizens to forcible 
draughts, conscriptions, or impressments, not au- 
thorized by the Constitution of the United States;" 
to petition the general government to allow the 
states to defend themselves ; and that a portion of 
their taxes be given to pay the balance due and fu- 
ture expenses ; and to request the legislatures to 
authorize their governors to detach militia or form 
volunteer corps ready for service, and send them 
to assist any neighbouring state to repel invasion. 
The Convention then proposed seven amendments 
to the United States' Constitution, to be laid before 
a general convention if approved by legislatures. 
These amendments were, in brief, to have repre- 
sentatives and taxes apportioned according to the 
number of free persons and those held to service 
for a term of years, excluding Indians not taxed 
and slaves ; that a vote of two thirds of both houses 
should be required to admit any new state into the 
Union, or to forbid commerce with any foreign 
country ; that no embargo should be laid by the 
president for more than sixty days ; that two 
thirds of Congress shall be required to declare 
or make war, except for defence ; that no person 
thereafter to be naturalized be eligible to Congress, 
and hold no civil office under United States' au- 



1815.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 439 

thority ; that the same person should not be twice 
president ; and that two presidents should not be 
elected from any one state twice in succession. 

Soon after, the news was- received of the conclu- 
sion of peace with Great Britain ; and it excited 
general satisfaction, especially in New-England. 
The right of search was not renounced by Great 
Britain ; for the treaty was made without mention- 
ing it. The opposers of the war, therefore, per- 
sisted in their opinion that it had been unneces- 
sary, and resorted to from partiality to the French 
party in Europe. 

All, however, united in active preparations for the 
pleasing employments of peace along the streams 
and in the numerous little harbours of Connecticut. 
Vessels were drawn from their hiding-places, and 
the banks began again to ring with the cheerful 
sounds of reviving commerce. A period of gloom 
and dissension was past, in which the country had 
been still more agitated by internal dissension than 
distressed or disquieted by foreign foes. 



440 WEST INDIA TftAb . [1815. 



CHAPTER XLIX. 1814. 

Depiession of Manufactures.— Fall of Prices. — Immense Moral 
Evils resulting from the Trade with the West Indies.— In- 
temperance prevails. — Temperance Societies. 

The return of peace caused a great and sudden 
fall in the prices of most of the necessaries of life 
as well as its luxuries ; and many merchants and 
manufacturers in different parts of the country be- 
came bankrupt. 

In 1815 a convention was held to regulate the 
commerce between the United States and Great 
Britain for four years ; and it was agreed that ves- 
sels should pay at British ports in Europe the same 
duties on tonnage and imports as those laid on 
British vessels in the United States. No arrange- 
ment, however, was made with respect to our trade 
with the West Indies. 

The value of land in the different states was es- 
timated in 1814 and 1815; and the general aver- 
age was made out at $ 10 per acre, while that of 
Connecticut was placed as high as $34. 

The commerce with Great Britain and parts of 
the West Indies was soon restored ; and immense 
moral injury was caused by the latter branch of 
trade for many years, by the introduction of vast 
quantities of rum, and the distillation of the same 
pernicious liquor from molasses. Intemperance 
prevailed in a degree which seemed to threaten 
ruin to the state ; and good men almost despaired 



1818.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 441 

of finding any means of resisting the overwhelming 
evil. Temperance societies were happily devised, 
and their influence has gone far to effect the desired 
change. The Rev. Mr. Hewitt, of Connecticut, 
gave the first impulse to that great reformation, 
which has since extended throughout the United 
States and into several countries of Europe. 

The present Constitution of Connecticut was 
adopted in 1818, instead of the charter of King 
Charles. One of the principal grounds on which 
the "latter was objected to, was the distinction it 
made between Congregationalists and other Chris- 
tian denominations. 

The history of Connecticut under the charter 
presents a remarkable example of political uni- 
formity and stability in government, a parallel to 
which it would be difficult to find in other elective 
governments. All the legislative officers except 
the representatives were chosen every year by the 
whole body of freemen, as were the governor, 
deputy-governor, secretary, and treasurer. The 
representatives were chosen twice a year by the 
towns. Many of these various officers, as we have 
seen, held their places till death or advanced age. 
General Wyllys was elected secretary 63 years in 
succession, including the agitating years of the 
Stamp Act and the Revolution. All judicial offi- 
cers were appointed annually by the General As- 
sembly, and the members of Congress by a gen- 
eral ticket. Yet, within a period of more than 
20 years preceding the adoption of the present Con- 
stitution, the number of men who lost their places 
in the Assembly and Council, in consequence of a 
loss of popularity, did not exceed two, although it 



442 IMPROVEMENTS. [1818. 

was a period marked by peculiar excitement and 
violent party spirit, embracing the wars of Europe 
and the last American war. 

At the time of the adoption of the State Consti- 
tution, a political change took place, and other men 
and measures were supported by the people. Some 
of the various conflicting views which have since 
divided the opinions of our countrymen, have since 
prevailed by turns in Connecticut. The progress 
of the state in almost every species of improve- 
ment, however, has been very great. The means 
of travelling and transportation have been much 
extended, and the people have applied themselves 
to numerous branches of manufacture, agriculture, 
science, literature, domestic and foreign trade and 
enterprise. Multitudes have emigrated to distant 
parts of the Union, and are now propagating the 
principles of their ancestors in our new states and 
territories, and disseminating the institutions of 
their native region, while reclaiming the wilder- 
ness or building new villages and towns. The 
great increase of the population is therefore not to 
be sought for in the census tables, which show 
only the numbers of that portion of the inhabitants 
which remain at home. 

Much money has been expended by the Legisla- 
ture to deepen the channel of Connecticut River in 
several places where the shallows impede the 
navigation at low water, principally by forming 
piers of stones and driving piles. In some parts 
the banks have been much worn away by the en- 
croachments of the current, when not protected 
by the roots of trees. That river has been daily 
navigated by steamboats for several years, which 



1832] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 443 

run between Hartford and New-York, touching at 
numerous landing-places on both its banks ; while 
smaller steamboats extend the line into Vermont. 
Steam navigation has been annually increasing 
ever since the United States Courts declared it to 
be a part of the coasting trade ; and Long Island 
Sound is one of its principal channels. Steam- 
boats in great numbers now proceed from New- 
York to many of the towns on the southern line of 
Connecticut, touching at numerous intermediate 
points ; while those of great size and superior 
swiftness daily take numerous passengers and large 
quantities of freight to the railroads leading north- 
ward from New-Haven, Norwich, and Stonington. 

During the war, the scarcity of foreign goods 
had induced many persons to engage in various 
kinds of manufacture, with which they had before 
been almost unacquainted. When peace was pub. 
lished in 1814, it was welcomed with the highest 
pleasure, and business was resumed with activity. 
The prices of almost all articles, however, sud- 
denly sunk very low, so that great losses were suf- 
fered by those merchants who had merchandise 
on hand, as well as many of the manufacturers. 
Manufactures have since revived, and new branches 
have been introduced, having been encouraged by 
the laws regulating the tariff, so that almost every 
stream is compelled to divert its water-power to 
some useful purpose. 

In 1832 the value of manufactures in copper, 
brass, tin, and Brittania ware was $430,050. But- 
tons are made in great quantities in Meriden and 
Waterbury. The carriages made in New-Haven 
in 1832 were valued at $221,000, and in 1834 at 



444 



COMMERCE. 



[1832. 



$275,000. At Thompsonville, in Enfield, is an 
extensive carpet manufactory ; at Norwich, Mid- 
dletown, and many other places, are large and small 
manufactories of different kinds, built on the banks 
of streams ; and all these, which are far too nu- 
merous and various to be particularized here, yield 
a considerable proportion of the whole amount of 
manufactures of the United States, which were es- 
timated by Mr. Pitkin, in 1835, at between 325 
and 350 millions of dollars. 

At the close of 1830 there were 12,250 vessels 
owned in the United States, of which 934 were 
ships, and 343 belonged to steam navigation. Con- 
necticut had 377 vessels, of 1496 tons, navigated 
by 1496 men. In 1832, to the port of New-Lon- 
don alone belonged 24,225 tons. 

Imports of Connecticut. 



Yean, 


Amount. 


Principal Exports. 


1821 . 


$312,090 . 


$376,187 


1822 . 


507,094 . 


485,312 


1823 . 


456,643 . 


482,061 


1824 . 


581,510 . 


575,852 


1825 . 


704,478 . 


689,270 


1826 . 


136,194 . 


708,893 


1827 . 


630,004 . 


590,275 


1828 . 


485,174 . 


521,545 


1829 . 


309.538 . 


457,970 


1830 . 


269,583 . 


389,511 


1831 . 


405,066 . 


482,883 


1832 . 


437,715 . 


430.456 


1833 . 


352,014 . 


427,603 


1834 . 


385,720 . 


422,416 


1835 . 


439,502 . 


519,270 


1836 . 


468,163 . 


438,199 


1837 . 


318,849 . 


532,590 


1838 . 


343,331 . 


. 543,610 



The whale fishery is now extensively pursued 
from New- London, and sealing from Stonington. 



1832.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 445 

The Pilgrims in the Mayflower saw many whales 
near Cape Cod in 1620 ; the people of Nantucket 
began to take them in boats in 1690 ; about 1750 
they were pursued to the West Indies and Brazil ; 
and now they are taken in the Northern and Pa- 
cific Oceans. In 1834 New-London had 41 wha- 
ling vessels, with 11,251 tons and 1087 men. 

Silk has been produced in Connecticut about 80 
years, though in small quantities. Mulberry-trees 
were introduced into Mansfield in 1760, and there 
most of the silk has been made. In 1783 the. As- 
sembly offered for ten years a bounty of ten shil- 
lings for every hundred white mulberry-trees plant- 
ed, and three shillings for every ounce of silk man- 
ufactured. In 1785 the American Silk Company 
was formed in New-Haven, which promoted the 
planting of trees. In Mansfield, in 1793, 362 
pounds of raw silk were made. In 1832 a bounty 
of one dollar was offered for every hundred trees 
three years old, and fifty cents a pound for reeled 
silk. In 1834 the bounty was extended to the Chi- 
nese mulberry-tree, and a company was incorpo- 
rated, with a capital of $15,000. The specula- 
tions of 1838 and 1839 caused much loss in Con- 
necticut, as well as in some other states. 

In 1832, the paper made in Connecticut was val- 
ued at $546,000. The manufacture of books is 
carried on to a great extent, so that more business 
in that department has been done in Hartford in 
a year than in any other place in the Union, ex- 
cepting only Philadelphia, New- York, and Boston. 

In 1796, the importation of foreign books in Con- 
necticut was commenced by Mr. Nathan Beers, a 
bookseller in New-Haven. The business was af- 
Pp 



446 MAIL ROUTES. [1838. 

terward carried on for many years by Messrs. 
Beers and Howe, for the supply of Yale College, 
as well as of many private libraries in this state 
and elsewhere. Messrs. Cooke afterward began 
bookselling in New-Haven ; and, removing to 
Hartford in 1796, began to import and republish 
English books of standard value. They supplied 
Dartmouth College, and carried on, for many years, 
an extensive business in adjacent and distant parts 
of the country. These establishments had an im- 
portant and most favourable influence on the lit- 
erature of Connecticut, and a considerable part 
of the Union. It is believed that the two houses 
possessed together a larger assortment of standard 
books than any single house in the country. There 
were no other importing booksellers in New-Eng- 
land for several years after they commenced, ex- 
cept in Boston ; nor elsewhere except in two or 
three of the principal cities south of it. 

The following, among other books, were early 
published by Messrs. Cooke : the Wealth of Na- 
tions, three editions, Johnson and Elliot's Diction- 
ary, Strong's Sermons, the Connecticut Evangelical 
Magazine. The same house, at later periods, un- 
der different members, established the first book- 
stores in several of the principal western towns. 

Mail Routes, &c. — In 1838 there were in Con- 
necticut 2134 mail routes, extending in all 745,160 
miles, of which the mails were carried by horses 
and sulkeys 104,624 miles; 611,416 in stage- 
coaches ; and 29,120 by steamboats and railroads. 
The postage paid on letters amounted, in the year 
ending June 30, 1838, to $90,977 35 cents ; and 
on newspapers, magazines, &c, to $14,063 53 



1839.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 447 

cents ; while the postmasters received $29,760 90 
cents. 

In 1833 there were 21 banks in Connecticut, 
with capitals amounting to $5,708,015. The 
notes issued amounted to §2,557,227 ; specie and 
specie funds, $400,000 ; deposites, $900,228 ; dis- 
count of notes, $7,432,055. The number of banks 
in the United States was at that time 562, and 
their aggregate capital 35 millions, besides the 
Bank of the United States. 

The militia of Connecticut in 1839 amounted to 
29,950 : viz., infantry, 25,547 ; cavalry, 986 ; ar- 
tillery, 2125 ; and riflemen, 1294. 

The United States' Courts. — The United States' 
Circuit Courts sit at New-Haven on the last Wed- 
nesday of April, and at Hartford on the 17th of 
September. The District Court at New-Haven on 
the fourth Tuesday in February and August, and 
at Hartford on the fourth Wednesday in May and 
November. 

There were 31 newspapers and periodical mag- 
azines printed in Connecticut in 1839. 

The old copper-mine at Simsbury had been 
used for many years as the state prison, which was 
called Newgate. In the course of the nine and a 
half years preceding 1827, it had cost the state, 
above all the earnings of the convicts, $80,500. 
That year the new prison at Wethersfield was 
opened, having been constructed on the improved 
plan first introduced in the prison at Auburn, 
New-York, with 136 solitary cells, and excellent 
arrangements for health and cleanliness, and a ju- 
dicious system of moral and religious improvement. 
The total cost of the ground and buildings was 



448 COLLEGES. [1839. 

$45,602 18 cts. In 1839 it contained 183 prison- 
ers, and had had 59 committed that year. The 
earnings in 1837 had already repaid to the state 
the above amount of cost and the expenses, and 
left a balance of $10,746 47 cts. 

The paupers are generally supported by the 
towns, under the charge of the men who offer the 
lowest terms. No returns are made to the Legis- 
lature, and the system probably admits of improve- 
ments. A few paupers are supported by the state. 

The governor of Connecticut has $1100 a year ; 
the lieutenant-governor and president of the Sen- 
ate, $300 ; treasurer, $1000 ; secretary, $84 and 
fees; comptroller, $1000; commissioner of the 
school fund, $1250; chief-justice, $1100; associ- 
ate judges, $1050 ; and reporter, $350. 

Yale College or University, a Congregational 
institution of learning, founded in the year 1700, 
had, in 1840, 31 instructers, 403 students, 10,500 
volumes in its library, and 15,000 in society li- 
braries. The ministers educated there previously 
to 1839 had been 1237. The annual expenses for 
each student are, rent, &c, $21 ; instruction, $33; 
wood, &c, $20 ; board for 40 weeks, $85. Pres- 
ident, Jeremiah Day. Commencement on the third 
Wednesday in August. The departments of the- 
ology, medicine, and law have been founded within 
a few years. 

Washington College, an Episcopal institution, 
founded in 1824 ; had 54 students, 10 instructers, 
2000 volumes, in society libraries 2500, alumni 
115, ministers educated 42, and expenses — for rent, 
$19 50 cts. ; instruction, $33 ; board for 39 weeks, 
$85. President, Silas Totten. Commencement 
is held on first Thursday in August. 



1838.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. 449 

The Wesleyan University, a Methodist institu- 
tion, founded in 1831 at Middletown ; had 152 
students, and 3000 volumes in the library. The 
expenses, for rent, $11 25 cts. ; instruction, $36 ; 
board for 40 weeks, $70. Stephen Olin, Presi- 
dent. Commencement on the first Wednesday in 
August. 

The Theological Institute of Connecticut, com- 
menced in 1834 at East Windsor, has three pro- 
fessors, 23 students, and 3500 volumes in its library. 

The first considerable law school in the. United 
States was opened in Litchfield, Connecticut, in 
1798, and continued till 1827, by Judge Reeve, 
and had, in all, 730 students. 

The Common School Fund yields an annual in- 
come of about $113,000 ; and improvements in the 
schools have been commenced, under the direction 
of a Board of Education. The state has no debt, 
and expends only $80,000 annually, except the 
school money. 

GOVERNORS OF THE COLONY AND STATE OF CON- 
NECTICUT. 

Governors of the Colony. 

1st. John Haynes, first elected in 1640, and af- 
terward every other year till 1653. 

2d. Edward Hopkins, first elected in 1640, and 
afterward every year, alternately with Governor 
Haynes, till 1654. 

3d. George Wyllys, from 1643. 

4th. Thomas Welles, 1655 and 1658. 

5th. John Webster, 1656. 

6th. John Winthrop, 1657, 1659, and till 1675. 
Pp2 



450 GOVERNORS OF THE STATE. 

7th. William Leet, from 1676 to 1682. 

8th. Robert Treat, from 1683 to 1687, and from 
1689 to 1697. 

9th. (The usurped government, under Sir Ed- 
mund Andross, from October 31st, 1687, to May 
9th, 1689.) 

10th. Fitz John Winthrop, from 1698 to 1707. 

11th. Gurdon Saltonstall, from 1708 to 1724. 

12th. Joseph Talcott, from 1725 to 1741. 

13th. Jonathan Law, from 1742 to 1750. 

14th. Roger Wolcott, from 1751 to 1753. 

15th. Thomas Fitch, from 1754 to 1765. 

16th. William Pitkin, from 1766 to 1769. 

Governors of the State. 

17th. Jonathan Trumbull, from 1770 to 1783. 
18th. Matthew Griswold, from 1784 to 1785. 
19th. Samuel Huntington, from 1786 to 1795. 
20th. Oliver Wolcott, from 1796 to 1797. 
21st. Jonathan Trumbull, from 1798 to 1809. 
22d. John Treadwell, 1810. 
23d. Roger Griswold, from 1811 to 1812. 
24th. John Cotton Smith, from 1813 to 1816. 
25th. Oliver Wolcott, from 1817 to 1826. 
26th. Gideon Tomlinson, from 1827 to 1830. 
27th. John S. Peters, from 1831 to 1832. 
28th. Henry W. Edwards, 1833. 
29th. Samuel A Foot, in 1834. 
30th. Henry W. Edwards, from 1835 to 1836. 
31st. William W. Ellsworth, from 1836 till the 
present time. 



THE END. 



